Call of the Valkyrie
by Senkusha
Summary: What happens when Skuld gets recalled to Heaven to be judged at trial for slaying three mortals without authorization? Who is this Mist Goddess, and what does she truly want with Skuld? Find out in this continuation to Stolen Innocence!
1. Recall Notice

**Disclaimer:** Ah! My Goddess and all its associated characters are owned by their creator, Kosuki Fujishima ( © 1988 – 2007 ) Any other characters specifically created for this fictional work are fictitious. Any similarity to any persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

My personal gratitude goes to Mr. Kosuki Fujishima for creating the wonderful Manga, characters, settings, and plots that this fiction is based on.

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This is the second book to the story "Stolen Innocence", a continuation of the plot from that story. It is not necessary to read "Stolen Innocence", since this story has been written as a stand alone fiction, however, I recommend that you do read "Stolen Innocence" for historical information.

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Please be aware that I really don't have any hard knowledge on the Valkyries in the Ah My Goddess universe, so some things may be out of character.

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It was another pleasant day in Heaven. The sun was shining, warming the air to a perfect 75 degrees. The camera zooms in closer to a woman running from one building to another, as it approaches, we see that she is about five foot, seven inches tall, has brilliant cherry red hair that falls down just below her shoulders. Her eyes are the color pink, and she wears a uniform consisting of a light red two piece blouse and skirt combination, with the skirt being just a little open to allow for ease of movement. She bears the symbol of a horizontal blue oval on her forehead and cheeks.

Reaching her destination, she swings open the entrance door, and runs past a column of desks, each with a phone and a small stack of paperwork to the side. Continuing down the hall, she runs to the end and turns abruptly to the right, swinging Rind's door wide open. Panting out of breath she enters the office.

"What is it now, Mist?" Rind inquires, not looking up from her desk. Her long silver-blue hair runs down her back, and is neatly combed.

"You have to see this." Mist walks up confidently to Rind's desk.

"See what?" Rind sighs in irritation.

Mist puts the report down in front of Rind, covering the report she was already reading. Rind picks up the stapled report and scans it, quickly flipping through the documentation.

"Okay, so why is this my concern?" Rind asks.

"I— The--- The report pretty much says it, doesn't it?" Mist answers back dumbfounded.

"Yeah, she hacked up a few humans, and how a recall notice is going to be sent for her to answer for her actions." Rind paused, and looked up at Mist finally. "Probably sometime today I'd imagine."

Mist's jaw just about dropped as she heard the news. She knew probably better than anybody else what a trial of this magnitude would mean. Quickly she blurted out, "I want to train her."

"You want to what?" Rind asked surprised.

"She has great potential." Mist answered back.

Rind flopped down the report onto her desk and exhaled. "She's young."

"She's trainable." Mist countered.

"She's undisciplined." Rind said.

"She's ruthless." Mist again countered.

"She lacks control." Rind said in an irritated tone.

Mist paused for a moment, trying to come up with a defense. Finally she thought of something. "True, she does lack control, right now. But you also have to realize how powerful she will become once she does learn control. It would be such a shame for all that … energy… to be wasted on a mundane job like System Debugger."

Rind sat back in her high backed chair and closed her eyes, giving another long sigh. After a moment of thinking she finally opened her eyes, and stared directly at Mist.

"Fine. You can personally train her. It will be your full responsibility to make sure she doesn't hurt anyone or herself during her training….and it will be an accelerated training program. You will report her progress after every day directly to me, and you will conduct her training in secret. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Rind, fully." Mist said bowing before Rind. "But what about her trial?" she asked still bowing.

"I'll take care of that. You go meet her when the recall is sent. Now go." Rind said commandingly.

Mist walked out the door, shutting it silently. She practically skipped down the long hallway until she reached the front door. Upon exiting she slowed to a calm and casual walk, heading for Yggdrasil.

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Belldandy walked outside to feel the warm sunny spring day surround her as she hung the laundry to dry. The lands around the temple were still scarred by bullet holes, clumps of grass overturned, a large mud puddle where Mira was defeated, and several trees that had bullets lodged into their trunks. She glanced over to where the alter burned last night, seeing all that was left were some ambers still glowing a dull orange color with a little smoke rising from the site. Near the pile of white ashes laid the double bladed sword on the ground. Curious, Belldandy walked up to it and picked the sword up. It was a shiny silver metallic color, with a silver and gold hilt in the center of the two blades, which had a ripple on one side of the blade, and a straight edge going down the assumed bottom. The ends were curved upwards like that of a Katana. The blades were razor sharp, and appeared to have not have a chip, bloodstain, or any other defect in the blades. The sword itself weighed a surprising light weight, if she had to guess, she'd say it weighted about two pounds, which seems odd for a seven foot sword.

She gently carried it inside and carefully placed it on the kitchen counter, starring at it until Urd woke up. She came striding slowly in the room and was about to sit down on the couch and turn on the television when Belldandy called her over.

"What's up, sis?" Urd dully asked.

"I've never seen a weapon like this before. Where do you think she found it?" Belldandy asked still looking at her reflection in the blades.

"Maybe she found it on one of those men?" Urd suggested.

"No, this defiantly isn't human made." Belldandy responded.

During their conversation, Skuld came stumbling into the kitchen, her bloodshot eyes still only half open. She wore the same pink silk nightgown she slept in the night before last, which consisted of two thin shoulder straps, and loosely hung down to her mid thighs, with just a slight tuck to accentuate her waistline.

"Good morning, Skuld." Belldandy said cheerfully. "How are you?" she asked.

Skuld looked at Belldandy and gave a wide long yawn before answering. "I didn't really sleep at all last night." She replied.

"I'm sorry to hear that Skuld. Maybe some soup would help?" Belldandy suggested.

"I could easily whip up a sleeping potion for you." Urd added.

"Um… I think I'll—" Skuld began to respond, seeing the sword on the countertop.

Slowly she walked over to it and gazed down at it, seeing her tired reflection in the silver blade. Giving a slight sigh, she began to tear up, with a single tear rolling down her right cheek. Belldandy quickly went over to Skuld and put her hand on her shoulder.

"You can cry if you need to Skuld. It's perfectly normal to mourn somebody that was close to you." She whispered.

"I'm okay." Skuld stated fighting back her tears, giving her eyes a quick wipe with her forearm.

The telephone rang.

"I'll get it." Urd said, since she was the closest one to it. Picking up the receiver she answered.

"Morrisato Res—" she paused. "Yes…..Yes……today?...right now?... But……I understand." Urd hung up the phone and turned toward her two sisters.

"Skuld, you've been recalled to Heaven, effective immediately." Urd said with a twinge of sadness.

"Why?" She asked.

"You're going to be tried for the slaying of three humans, and answer for your behavior." Urd said softly.

Belldandy took Skuld by her arm and quickly chanted something under her breath. A moment later a white glow moved from Belldandy to Skuld, which lasted for a minute, pulsing as it moved between the two sisters. After she was finished, Belldandy collapsed to the floor.

"Big Sis?!" Skuld exclaimed.

"Don't worry about her. She just gave you an energy boost. You're going to need it." Urd commented.

"Why?" Skuld asked naively.

"Because a trial of this magnitude usually doesn't end well for the one being interrogated." Urd responded.

Skuld looked uneasy at her eldest sister.

"You should probably get going. They don't look kindly on those who they have to wait for." She said as she bent down to tend to Belldandy.

"Yeah. I guess so." Skuld said with a tremble in her voice. She went back to her room, and dressed appropriately for Heaven, putting on her standard pink over shirt and skirt, complete with shoes and matching gloves. Then she went into the bath and jumped in the water. Moments later she arrived in Heaven, specifically Yggdrasil's control room.

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Skuld looked around, only seeing the normal goddesses working on various debugging chores.

"Skuld." A commanding voice called her name from one of the entrances to the control room.

Skuld quickly turned her head to see who had called her name, to see it was Mist, a member of the Special Duties division. Skuld knew that she works directly under Rind, who was currently serving as Lead Valkyrie under The Almighty One's Special Combat Division.

"Uh oh…" Skuld whispered to herself. Glancing down to the floor, in shame, she slowly walked over to Mist, full of anticipation and worry.

"Skuld, please come with me….and try to keep up, will you?" Mist commanded.

"Yes, Ma'am" Skuld responded.

The two goddesses walked, and continued to walk, right past the office of Special Duties. Mist lead the way to a little building far away from most of the other buildings in Heaven. The place looked abandoned from the outside. Skuld had heard stories of little goddesses that were punished for crimes they had committed—that they were sent to this building to await their trials. Of course, she heard this when she was a little girl herself, probably not much older than a five year old (in human terms).

Mist opened the door, and commanded Skuld to enter. After she had done so, she closed and locked the door behind her, removing the key from the lock. In one swift motion, she flipped on the lights, a brilliant white light flooded the entire room. In the center of the room were two chairs, facing one another, separated by a small round table.

Mist pointed over to the chairs, commanding, "Have a seat over there."

Skuld walked over to the chair and gently pulled it away from the table. Slowly sitting down, she tensed up, her feet flat on the floor, her legs sealed shut, her shoulders and back were rigid, and she had genuine fear in her brown eyes. She placed her left hand over her right hand, and rested them in her lap, however, she was unintentionally crushing her right hand from squeezing her left had in fear.

"Do you know why you're here?" Mist asked sternly.

"Yes. For the slaying of three human mortals with out a license." Skuld replied softly.

"And you understand the consequences of your actions, if found guilty by a panel of your peers?" Mist asked.

"Yes. I think so." Skuld answered.

"Very well. Then let us start." Mist said bluntly.

"Okay." Skuld replied again just as softly.

Mist opened up a folder and pulled out a report and quickly closed the folder. Laying the report on top of the closed folder, she scanned the text.

"My, my… you've been a busy little girl haven't you?" Mist said, not looking up to Skuld.

"Um…I guess you could say that." Skuld answered softly, resisting the urge to yell or even glare at her for calling her a little girl.

"You are 14, yes?"

"Yes."

"And your currently assigned duty is Primary System Debugger for Yggdrasil?"

"Yes."

"You currently hold a Second Class, First Category, Limited license, correct?"

"Yes."

"Your element is Water, yes?"

"Yes Ma'am."

Mist sighed as she looked up directly into Skuld's terrified brown eyes. "You are still so young, and show much potential. If you were to learn from this mistake, you might be—"

"Please, Madam Mist. I'll do anything, anything at all, you just name it, please! I'll scrub the floors of Hell if I have to!" Skuld begged.

"I'll take that into consideration…..as long as you do one thing." Mist replied.

"Yes?" Skuld answered eagerly.

"Never interrupt me again!" Mist shouted at Skuld.

"I'm sorry." Skuld almost whispered, glancing down at the floor.

"According to the Inter-Dimensional Handbook for Goddesses and Demons, Chapter 821, Section 49, Subparagraph E, the consequences for an unauthorized killing of one mortal is revocation of preexisting license." She paused.

"Since you have killed three mortals out of cold blood, the punishment is far worse. You would not only be stripped of your operating license, possibly never regaining it back, but you would also loose any Earth traveling privileges. Along with that, there is a minimum sentence to at least one millennium of House Arrest."

Skuld began to tear up, realizing that she wouldn't be able to see her Big Sis for a very, very long time, and she'd only be allowed to stare at her walls in her assigned apartment, spending that time all alone, by herself. Tears began to stream down the young girl's face. Try as she might, she couldn't hold them back. A large lump formed in the back of her throat as she tried to restrain her emotions.

"But I have some good news." Mist said surprisingly.

"Y—yes? Skuld choked out as her voice cracked.

"Since you stated that you would be willing to do anything….", Mist trailed off.

Skuld frantically shook her head up and down in desperation.

"I have a request for you." Mist continued.

"Any—thing." Skuld chocked out again.

"Would you be willing to train under my personal command as a Valkyrie?" Mist asked with a small grin.

"Val…krie?" Skuld asked in disbelief.

"Would you or would you not." Mist insisted.

Skuld sat there motionless for what seemed to be an eternity. Thinking about the ruthless training the Valkyries have to go through, she would be away from her sisters for a while, unable to contact them while in training. She also thought about the fact that most Valkyries become hardened and rigid, never expressing any emotion, never forming relationships, and most certainly, never falling in love.

"Love. There was only one person she loved, and he was dead. Though she only really knew him for a few days in reality, those few past days were the most wonderful days of her life, despite the horrifying events that took place that led them to one another. A single tear rolled down her cheek, as she made the decision. She would never love again.

"Yes….. I will." Skuld answered finally, looking straight into Mist's eyes.

"Okay." She replied cheerfully, which took Skuld by surprise. "I'll have Rind accept your proposal to join under my leadership, and she will suspend your trial. If you graduate, and I mean graduate with all Level One scores, your trial will be canceled. However, if you fail, then you will immediately go to trial, and punished accordingly."

Skuld swallowed hard, nodding her head in recognition of the contract.

"Good. Then the first thing we shall work on is Weapon Retrieval." Mist explained. She stood up, and prompted Skuld to stand up as well. After she did, the table and chairs vanished, leaving the two goddesses facing one another, alone in the room.

"But I don't have any weapons." Skuld proclaimed.

"Yes you do. As of yesterday on Earth, you declared your weapon of choice." Mist responded.

"Huh?" Skuld looked dumbfounded at Mist.

"That sword with a blade coming out of both sides of the hilt?" Mist pointed out.

"Oh. That's my weapon? Why a sword?" Skuld asked question after question.

"You made a sword because that's what you wanted. Your sword was made from your heart's essence, and therefore is a part of you, making it yours, forever, or at least until you die." She paused. "You must respect and honor your weapon, as if it were part of you. Discarding it as you did yesterday was … not good. For your sake, I hope your sword forgives you."

"Oh." Skuld acknowledged.

"One more thing about your sword. It will respond to your commands and your commands only. Since you two are connected, you should name your sword, 'Skuld-chan'. Before you ask, I'll answer the question that's burning in the front of your brain. 'Why –chan?' The reason you name your weapon after yourself, with the honorary suffix of –chan is because your weapon is an intimate part of you, in essence, it is your very soul. That is why you must treat your sword with honor, love, compassion, but most of all, respect." Mist finished.

"Now, call upon your weapon!" Mist commanded.

"Um…..I don't know how?" Skuld sheepishly responded.

"Have you not heard a single word I have just said?!" Mist glared down at Skuld.

"Yes….I heard every word, but – "

"Then call …. Your……sword!" Mist commanded again, putting special emphasis on the word 'call'. here?" Skuld said uncomfortably.

"No…no, no, no, nononono! Like this! Mist-chan I command you to come to thee and once again bind yourself to my flesh!", Mist shouted with a dignified commanding voice that echoed throughout the room.

A moment later, steel plated whip fizzled into her right hand.

"Now…call upon your sword….before I decimate you!" Mist commanded, yelling at Skuld.

"Okay…" Skuld paused taking a deep breath in and slowly letting it out. Mist started to become irritated at Skuld and flung her whip in front of the girl dressed in pink.

"Skuld-chan……I command you to return to my hands!" Skuld yelled. Moments later the double bladed sword appeared in her hands, turning a shade of yellow and blue.

"What are you afraid of…kid!" Mist antagonized while launching her whip right at Skuld. Skuld in return held up her sword instinctively to block Mist's attack, causing the whip to wrap around Skuld's upper blade.

"Huh?!" Skuld asked.

"Now, disarm me…if you can!" Mist commanded.

Skuld pulled on her sword, not budging as Mist was also pulling on her whip, dragging Skuld across the floor on her feet. She gave her whip another forceful pull, and launched Skuld into the air, as she went flying, slamming against the far wall and landing hard on her butt.

"Oww!" Skuld glared up at Mist.

"Oh quit being a baby! Now get up and fight me!" Mist commanded.

"Gimme back my sword." Skuld said.

"No. Come and get it." Mist challenged.

Skuld stood up and charged Mist at a full run, only to be snared by Mist's whip tangling her feet. Skuld hit the floor face first, and ended right at Mist's boots.

"What are you going to do Skuld? Hmmm?" Mist taunted Skuld as she attempted to free herself.

"I think you're going to enjoy pleasuring me." Mist said as she bent down and began to undo Skuld's shirt.

"Hey! Stoppit" Skuld begged.

"Are you going to make me?" Mist challenged, continuing to undo Skuld's shirt. "Next I move to your bottoms, and then I'll have my way with you." Mist declared.

"No! I'm….not like….that!" Skuld squirmed further, unable to get untangled. "Please stop!" She begged.

"No. What if I were an enemy combatant? Hmmm, He certainly wouldn't stop. He wants your body. Now stop me!" Mist shouted at Skuld.

"I….don't know…how!" Skuld pleaded, almost crying.

Mist sighed, "I guess I'll be enjoying you serving as my slave today." She continued as she flipped open Skuld's pink shirt, revealing her A cup bra. "I just taught you how to escape, but you refuse to call upon it." Mist whispered seductively into Skuld's ear.

"Huh?" Skuld asked herself. She saw her sword laying on the floor across the room from her. "Skuld-chan, I beg of you---- return to me….save me!" she pleaded.

A moment later, her sword returned to her hands. Slashing randomly Mist backed off of Skuld, yanking her tangled whip, throwing Skuld across the room once more. In the process of being airborne her shirt came flying down to her hands, which had a death grip on the hilt of her sword. Slamming onto the floor with her bare back she moaned in pain. Mist stood over Skuld with a grin on her face.

"Now, shall I start raping you again, or are you going to put your shirt back on and fight me?" Mist taunted.

Skuld leapt up from the floor, coming down out of the air with her sword, she swing left and right, using it as a staff. Mist countered with her whip and a spell shield. Skuld continued to own Mist as she continued to force Mist backwards until her back was hard against a wall. Taking her sword back, she pointed it directly at Mist's chest and rammed it with all her force, only to be flung backwards about twenty feet from the shield protecting Mist.

"Excellent." Mist applauded, clapping her hands together slowly, she smiled as she approached Skuld. Skuld reacted by defensively placing her sword between her and Mist.. Instead Mist just held out her hand, offering Skuld to stand up.

"Come on. Take my hand." Mist said gently.

Skuld reached out and grabbed her hand; Mist yanked her up to her feet and bowed to her. A bed appeared in one corner of the room.

"That was very good, Skuld. Now I want you to rest up. Get plenty of sleep before tomorrow morning. You'll need it." Mist advised.

"But, it's only 10:30 in the morning!" Skuld whined.

"I know. I also know that you didn't sleep a wink last night…you were too busy being depressed to sleep." Mist said giving Skuld an eyeshot. "Trust me, you need all the sleep you can get. Now climb into that bed, pull the covers up and close your eyes." Mist commanded. "Oh, change into something more appropriate to sleep in. I'll see you first thing in the morning. Good night Skuld." Mist said shutting the door behind her.

"How does she expect me to change…I don't have any of my clothes here." Skuld said as she walked to the door. She tried to push open the door, but it was locked. She was trapped in this windowless room, for only God-knows how long.

Scanning the room, she spotted a small dresser with a couple of drawers next to the bed. She walked over to it and opened the drawers. Picking out her pink nightgown she quickly changed into it.

"Now how did these get here?" Skuld thought to herself as she climbed into bed, giving a long yawn. Mist was right, she did need sleep, no matter how much she wanted to deny it. Slowly she closed her eyes, and a moment later the lights faded to blackness as Skuld fell into a deep sleep.


	2. Feelings Unleashed

**Disclaimer:** Ah! My Goddess and all its associated characters are owned by their creator, Kosuki Fujishima ( © 1988 – 2007 ) Any other characters specifically created for this fictional work are fictitious. Any similarity to any persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

My personal gratitude goes to Mr. Kosuki Fujishima for creating the wonderful Manga, characters, settings, and plots that this fiction is based on.

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Just as the rays of sunlight peaked through the clouds of Heaven, Mist quietly opened the door to Skuld's temporary living quarters. Flipping on the light, the room quickly illuminated a clean white color. Spotting that Skuld hadn't budged at all, still sleeping soundly in her bed, Mist approached the sleeping teen, and gently removed the covers from her sleeping form.

She laid there curled up in a fetal position, her right arm was draped across her waist, while her left arm was halfway extended, bent upwards going towards her head with her palm up. Her fingers were slightly bent in a calm relaxed position. She was still, quietly snoozing, shallowly breathing in and out.

"Skuld?" Mist whispered seductively into her ear. "It's time to wake up…"

She didn't budge.

'Heavy sleeper, eh? Okay.' Mist thought to herself. She leapt onto the bed and descended quickly upon the young girl dressed in pink. Flexing her fingers she delicately touched her exposed skin, causing Skuld to go into a fit of uncontrollable ticklish twitches. She opened her eyes to see Mist straddling her. She couldn't help but giggle uncontrollably as she was tortured.

"Please……stop……I …..surrender…!" Skuld uttered between giggles.

Mist calmly got off of Skuld, offering her a hand to sit up. Skuld accepted the hand and sat upright in the bed, swinging her legs outward, resting comfortably in a tight closed position.

" I never liked the way Rind woke us up during training." Mist explained.

"How did she do it?" Skuld asked, standing up and quickly dressing in her pink battle uniform.

"Oh, the usual way….Flipping on the lights, slamming the door shut and yelling at the top of her lungs, dragging us out of our beds if we didn't move fast enough." Mist reminisced.

"Oh…yeah, I think I prefer your way better." Skuld said finally standing in front of Mist.

"Are you ready to begin today's training exercises?" Mist asked.

"Yes." Skuld said eagerly as she grabbed her sword from its resting place beside her bed.

"No. We're going to study hand to hand combat today – Valkyrie style." Mist directed.

"Oh…um…okay." Skuld reluctantly put the weapon back down.

The two goddesses walked out the middle of the room and stared at one another.

"Okay, now punch me." Mist commanded.

Skuld stood there in denial at receiving her first command of the day.

"Skuld…I said…..Punch …. Me!" Mist said louder, more annoyingly.

"Um..Okay." Skuld responded as she pulled her arm back and launched it forward right towards Mist's chest.. Mist countered, by grabbing a hold of Skuld's fist and quickly twisting it clockwise, causing Skuld to flip horizontally in the air several times before landing on the floor hard.

"OW!" Skuld cried.

"Get up, and punch me again." Mist commanded.

Skuld hesitated a moment too long before Mist grabbed her up off the floor and threw her against the far wall.

"AHH!" Skuld cried out in more pain.

"Get up. Attack me!" Mist commanded.

Skuld got up off the floor and charged Mist at her top running speed. Mist tried to dodge the girl, but Skuld somehow knew that she'd sidestep to the left, and dove towards her legs, grabbing her ankles, forcing Mist to the floor. Quickly climbing on top of Mist, she straddled her, in an attempt to prevent her from escaping.

"Oh, you silly girl. Didn't know you liked it on the top." Mist taunted as she grabbed Skuld by her arms and rolling to one side, switching places with Skuld, as she laid helplessly glued to the floor by Mist's tight restraint.

Skuld struggled and squirmed, finally breaking an arm free, she slapped Mist on the cheek. The unexpected blow, took Mist off guard, and she collapsed down to the floor with the force of the blow, allowing Skuld to once again climb on top of her. Quickly Skuld began to pummel Mist alternating left and right hooks into Mist's chest and stomach. Mist tried to counter, by kicking her legs up trying to kick Skuld off of her. Skuld twisted around and grabbed her by the thigh and leaned forwards, forcing her leg to the ground. Mist in return grabbed Skuld by her hair, yanking as hard as she could. Skuld screamed in pain, as her neck whipped backwards.

Skuld didn't give into the pain, and leaned forward again. This time, with her lips just about touching her inner thigh, she opened her mouth as wide as she could, and bit down with all her strength.

"YAAAAAHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOCCCHHHHH!" Mist cried in agony, throwing the young goddess off of her, causing her to crash onto her bed upside-down.

Mist stood up and glared at Skuld, approaching the bed. But instead of attacking Skuld, she just sat down on the edge of her bed, staring at her with more friendly eyes. Skuld visibly relaxed and collapsed onto the floor, quickly standing up, ready for an imminent attack.

Mist quietly said, "Come, talk with me." as she patted a spot on her bed next to her. Skuld took her offer sitting down with her feet hanging off the bed. Mist turned towards her side to face Skuld, she folded her legs Indian style, placing her hands in her lap. Skuld quickly responded and did the same thing, so both girls could look at each other in their eyes.

"That was most impressive. I don't think I've ever been through so much pain, from somebody as untrained as you, Skuld." Mist complimented.

Skuld looked downwards and softly said, "I'm sorry."

Mist pulled Skuld's chin up and replied, "That was a good thing. There is nothing for you to apologize for."

Skuld just sat there stuck in a daze.

"Skuld?" Mist paused and waited for the young goddess to acknowledge her.

"Yes?" Skuld finally said.

"Tell me what happened." Mist asked.

"It's none of your business." Skuld defended.

"Yes it is. Now it is. You are harboring pent up emotions, and those very emotions are preventing you from reaching your full potential." Mist explained.

"Why did you kill those men?" she continued.

"I really don't want to talk about it." Skuld answered.

"Skuld…" Mist insisted.

"Why do you want to know?" Skuld answered defiantly.

"Because…. You fought….. ruthlessly just now. You did what you needed to do to break away…almost like you were in a panic. You know that I would never intentionally hurt you, Skuld." Mist explained. "Something horrible had to have happened for you to fight like this."

Skuld sighed in defeat. Mist wasn't going to give up until she had her answers. "It isn't fair." She said defiantly.

"What's not fair?" Mist asked.

Skuld sighed. "Belldandy has Keiichi …pretty much guaranteed to her. Urd, well, she's had her load of fun….but me…….I find somebody special, and ….he's taken away from me!" Skuld yelled.

"What are you talking about?" Mist inquired.

Skuld looked up at Mist and took a deep breath before beginning to explain.

"A few days ago I woke up while being kidnapped, later I was almost raped, and sold as God only knows what to some perverted freaks, and I almost died…twice. Luckily, Dirk came into my life. He saved me from those creeps; he even risked his own life to save mine." Skuld sighed again. "He made a wish…" Skuld trailed off, tears began welling up in her eyes.

"A wish? It was good, yes?" Mist inquired.

"It was wonderful." She said as sweetly as she could.

"He showed me true, unconditional love. Unintentionally, but it was true love……and I loved him back so much….." she began sobbing.

"We …. made…love…. …. passionate…..love…..he truly cared about me…." She put her hands up to her face, covering her face as she cried harder. "I miss him so much…his warm embrace." Skuld looked up at Mist. "Even though it was mostly Urd's doing to begin with…….and now……now…he's dead…..I'll never love anybody else again!" Skuld declared.

"You wanted to know why? Because those dickheads killed my love! That's why!"

"Oh." Mist answered softly as she watched Skuld ball her eyes out in tears. 'This is most serious….with her thinking this way, she'll never be able to activate the power within her again.' Mist thought.

"Skuld? Would you like to see where Dirk is now? Will that put you at ease….knowing that he's okay?" Mist suggested.

"No….what good would it do!" Skuld looked up, tears streaming down her face. It's forbidden that we cross over to that section of Heaven, and you know it…just as they have no idea that this section even exists."

"What if I told you….that there is a way?" Mist whispered in Skuld's ear.

"Huh?! Really?" Skuld exclaimed curiously.

"But, in order for that to happen, you must graduate this training, just as the contract states." Mist reminded Skuld.

Skuld wiped her eyes dry with her sleeve and stood up. "Okay then. I'm ready." She declared.

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"Mist. Come in." Rind said bluntly.

Mist walked into Rind's office and took a seat across from her. She looked at the Silver-Blue haired goddess eagerly.

"Okay, how is your student doing?" Rind asked.

"Already she has completed her first week of training, and I must compliment her on her performance. I think that she's ready to begin Training Field Work." Mist answered.

"You're that confident already, hmmm?" Rind questioned.

"Yes, I am. She's ready for it." Mist assured.

"Okay, after she proves it to me. Where are you keeping her locked up at?" Rind demanded.

"My usual office." Mist replied.

"Good. She's not expecting me, is she?"

"No, Ma'am." Mist replied.

"Excellent! Let's go. If she can defeat me in battle, that will prove that she's ready for the next level." Rind said as she stood up and walked out the door of her office.

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Rind opened the door to Skuld's bunker with Mist following close behind. Inside she witnessed Skuld performing an almost dancing ballet of combat movements with her double bladed sword, along with the occasional acrobatics.

"Skuld!" Rind shouted.

Skuld stopped in mid turn and stared at Rind.

"This is your first test. Attack me….if you can!" Rind said as she summoned her Axe.

Without another moment passing, Skuld changed her stance, and began to run at Rind at a full sprint. She leapt into the air and came thundering down upon Rind's body with her sword in front of her. Rind blocked Skuld's attack effortlessly, throwing the little girl to the side of the room carelessly. Skuld quickly got up as Rind marched over to where she way laying. Blocking Rind's blow she pushed back with all her might back into Rind's powerful grip, forcing Rind to close her arms to her chest. Fed up, Rind kicked Skuld in her crotch with her knee, causing the girl to collapse to the ground in pain..

"Okay, you wanna play dirty? You got it!" Skuld said after a passing moment regaining a second wind. She charged Rind from behind, tackling her feet, causing her to collapse to the ground. Rind kicked Skuld in her face, but Skuld was determined not to let go. She slid her way up Rind's bound body. Rind grabbed her by her neck, Skuld responded by biting down hard on her wrist and pulling, tearing flesh and leaving blood.

"You little….bitch." Rind said calmly. Giving her one more final blow to the head, Skuld had no choice but to release her grip on Rind. Rind stood up and grabbed her axe, walking slowly to the fallen girl, she lifted her arms up high, and swept downwards with her full force. Skuld saw the shot coming and jumped out of the way, leaving a large crack in the floor, where Rind's axe was stuck.

"Okay, have it your way." Rind commented. She chanted something Skuld or Mist had never heard before. Soon the entire room ran out of air, creating a vacuum.

"Rind…..you……can't…..do…..this….." Mist gasped with lack of air.

"Why not? I obviously won." Rind challenged Mist's judgment.

"Because….you used…..magic to…..defeat…..her." Mist replied collapsing to her knees. While Skuld laid on the floor unconscious.

"Damn." Rind snapped her fingers, and the room filled with air once again.

"Very well. She has passed the first test. Give her my congratulations." Rind said coldly as she abruptly left the room.


	3. Search for Answers

**Disclaimer:** Ah! My Goddess and all its associated characters are owned by their creator, Kosuki Fujishima ( © 1988 – 2007 ) Any other characters specifically created for this fictional work are fictitious. Any similarity to any persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

My personal gratitude goes to Mr. Kosuki Fujishima for creating the wonderful Manga, characters, settings, and plots that this fiction is based on.

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Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep… An alarm clock loudly echoed through the dimly lit room.

A figure buried within a pile of blankets reached over with an unguided hand and began slamming it down on everything on the nightstand, finally reaching the annoying little device, and silencing it for the rest of the day. After a few moments of laying still, the covers went flying off towards the right side of the bed. A bare foot touched the turquoise carpet and scratched its surface with a set toes.

A young adult sat up, twisting himself to hang off the bed as he took in a deep yawn, stretching his arms high above his head, and making balls of fists with his hands. He got up out of the bed, and stumbled towards the bathroom, flipping on the light, a short brown haired young man followed next him in the mirror, his blue eyes were still half shut.

He reached over and turned the faucet for the shower on, moments later steam began to fill the tiny room. He stepped in, allowing the hot beads of water gently massage his upper back and neck. He could still see her image from the dream he had. Long black hair, brown eyes, a blue marking on her forehead, and wearing a super cute pink outfit, he saw her with such vivid detail, though, never had he seen her before. He sighed as he picked up the soap and began washing his body.

After his morning routine, he got in his Camry and began his journey towards work. He wore a simple red pullover shirt, with blue jeans, and a pair of white sneakers. The sun was shining brightly, and the air was pleasant 72 degrees. Today appeared to be another beautiful Spring day. Another day he was locked up behind a desk and a stack of paperwork. Forty-Five minutes later, he pulled into the parking log and walked into the concrete four story building of his employment.

"Morning, Dirk." A grey haired older man said as he passed by his desk.

"Good morning Kevin." Dirk almost mumbled.

"Didn't sleep well again?" Kevin inquiered, taking up his coffee cup and following Dirk to his desk in the far back of the room.

"Yeah. I was up most of the night tossing and turning again." Dirk replied.

"I'm sure you'll get over her, and move on quickly." Kevin said trying to comfort his friend.

"Yeah, I'm sure I will too." Dirk paused while putting his brief case down next to his desk. "She left so suddenly…as if our time together had …. Not meant anything to her."

"Yeah. The cold hearted bitch." Kevin chastised. "Oh well, I'm pretty sure there is a better woman out there worthy of your love." Kevin paused and chuckled a little. "Karen didn't really deserve you anyway."

"Yeah. I guess so." Dirk said quietly.

"Well, I'll let you get started for the day." Kevin said, turning around.

"Hey Kevin?" Dirk grabbed his attention again.

"Yeah?" Kevin answered.

"Can I talk to you about something….." Dirk hesitated, shifting his eyes from left to right.

"Sure." Kevin replied. "What's on your mind."

"Let's go somewhere a little more private." Dirk suggested. "Promise me you won't think I'm crazy, okay?"

"I seriously doubt that you're crazy, Dirk." Kevin replied as the two men walked out of the office and got into Dirk's car.

"Alright, out with it. What's bothering you…besides Karen leaving?" Kevin asked as he stared into Dirk's worn out eyes.

"Have you ever….. ever had the same dream…. every night….but it was different each time?" Dirk asked.

"Boy that's a confusing question. Dirk!" Kevin chuckled. "If you mean, have I ever had the same dream night after night? No." Dirk paused. "But I have had dreams with the same person in them."

"I'm having this dream….. over and over again. Each time I see something different. I can't hear anything in the dream, but most of all…" Dirk stopped.

"Most of all?" Kevin prompted.

"Most of all…I keep seeing this girl." Dirk finally said.

"What's so wrong with that? You're still a young lad!" Kevin said.

"But I've never seen her before…yet I see her with such….such clarity…and she's the same every time I see her." Dirk replied.

"Maybe you picked her out of a commercial, or a magazine?" Kevin suggested.

"No. I'd defiantly know that. Besides, do you know how often I spend watching television? Ever since reality shows like Survivor stared airing, there hasn't really been crap on worth watching. Heck, you know as well as I do that I'm too broke to afford magazines." Dirk said, with a chuckle.

"What happens in the dreams?" Kevin asked.

"I….I don't really know. All I remember after I wake up is her image. Sometimes she's happy, and other times, she crying, or embarrassed." Dirk answered.

Kevin finally asked. "Do you like her?"

"Huh?" Dirk responded unsure of how to answer.

"Do you like seeing her… in your dreams?" Kevin revised.

"Yeah….I guess so. I mean she is pretty….but…she looks a little young." Dirk explained.

"How young?" Dirk asked.

"I – I don't know…15 maybe 16?" Dirk defended while blushing a bit.

"That's not too young for a young guy your age." Kevin paused. "I would just… enjoy the dreams while they happen, and not worry too much about it." Kevin suggested.

"It's not? But—" Dirk responded.

"Hey, if a guy my age can marry somebody half his age and get away with it, then I see nothing wrong with you…enjoying your dreams about this cute girl that's what…. three or four years younger than yourself? Besides, since you claim that you haven't seen her before, then you'll probably never meet anyway." Kevin explained, cutting Dirk off.

"I don't think that's a healthy --" Dirk replied.

"It's probably your mind's way of coping with Karen just up and walking out on you." Kevin advised.

"Yeah…maybe. Hey, you want to go out for lunch today?" Dirk said abruptly changing the subject.

"Okay. That sounds good. I'll see you around noon." Kevin said to Dirk as both men got out of Dirk's car and went back inside the building.

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Belldandy came out of the bathroom, fresh and clean from a wonderful hot soak in the tub. She entered her room and changed quickly, returning to the living room where Urd was watching television.

"Urd?" Belldandy asked.

"Yeah Bell?" She responded.

"Could you please switch to the news network?" Belldandy asked.

"Sure, but I doubt that you'll see anything about Skuld's case." Urd replied.

"I'm concerned. Already a week has gone by…. and not a word about Skuld…anywhere." Belldandy answered.

"So? I'm sure it's just a part of the trial process." Urd suggested, not taking her gaze away from the television screen.

"Would you do me a huge favor?" Belldandy asked Urd desperately.

"How come I've got the feeling that I'm going to regret it?" Urd said sarcastically.

"Could you go up to Yggdrasil and… see if you can find something?" Belldandy asked, almost begging.

Urd turned and looked at her younger sister. She enjoyed not having her youngest brat sister around, hanging all over Belldandy, but at the same time, she missed picking on her.

"Alright, but you'll owe me for this. Hopefully I won't get caught." Urd sighed as she leapt through the television, teleporting to Heaven.

"I know." Belldandy said quietly, staring at the television.

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Skuld slowly opened her eyes, staring at Mist smiling at her as she knelt down beside her. She quickly realized that she was still on the floor.

"What happened?" Skuld wearily asked.

"Rind cheated. You won. Congratulations, Skuld." Mist cheerfully said.

"Cheated?" Skuld replied as she sat up.

"Yeah, she used a magical attack on you. This was a test to determine your fighting combat skills. If she hadn't used a magical attack on you, most likely with time, you would have won." Mist explained.

"Oh." Skuld remarked.

"That's why starting right now, we're going to work on your magical abilities" Mist declared.

"But—" Skuld started.

"The key to using magic is to have an open heart and an open mind for the … unexpected to occur. One slightly misused word can change the entire effect of the spell you're casting." Mist lectured. "Since your element is Water, the majority of your spells will naturally come to you when working with water directly."

Mist produced a clear glass of water and set it down on the floor in front of Skuld.

"Now, make this water into a dense ball in your palms." Mist commanded.

Skuld stared at the glass of water and then glanced towards Mist.

"Go on. Try it." Mist coached.

Skuld stood up and stared down at the glass of water. She extended her arms and cupped her hands, closing her eyes as she strained to concentrate.

Two minutes later still nothing had happened.

"Skuld?" Mist spoke up causing Skuld to open her eyes and to see nothing had happened yet. She frustratingly dropped her arms and collapsed onto the floor, sitting cross-legged again in front of the water.

"I – I just can't do it anymore!" Skuld cried.

"Try again." Mist suggested.

"Why?! The outcome will still be the same! I can't do it!" Skuld sobbed.

Mist stood up and said "Skuld, follow me."

Skuld wiped her eyes and stood up, sniffling as she walked with Mist.

"Where are we going?" Skuld asked as Mist opened the door and began walking down a path away from her training grounds.

"You'll see soon enough." Mist threw back at her.

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Rind stared intently at the video display as it replayed the previous week's worth of recording. She studied each of Skuld's movements, watching her get thrown across the room several times by Mist.

"Hmph. It's a wonder how she became so good, so quickly." Rind commented to herself.

The screen then displayed Mist climbing on top of Skuld, as she slowly started to undress the young goddess.

"What does she think she's doing?!" Rind yelled angrily at the screen, her voice echoed down the hallway.

She stood up, kicking the chair backwards and stormed out of her office, heading straight down towards where the two were supposedly still training. When she got there she discovered that the room was empty, the only thing out of place was a small glass of water sitting peacefully in the middle of the room.

"Where are they." Rind grumbled as she scanned the paths that lead away from the building.

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Urd peaked around the corner carefully with her back hard against the wall, checking to make sure the coast was clear. Determining that it was, she jogged down the hallway until she stood near the entrance to the core Administration room for Yggdrasil. Bracing herself against the adjacent wall, she placed her ear to the door and listened intently.

'Well, I don't hear anything.' Urd thought to herself. Reaching her hand up, she activated the automated door as it opened. She peered inside to find nobody in the room.

"Perfect timing. Everyone is on break." Urd said as she ran over to a nearby Administration panel. She performed a system wide search for Skuld. She quickly found her personal records, inside her file were various achievements, a couple of bad conduct citations, and several requests for license upgrades – all of them denied.

Finally she stumbled onto an encrypted letter in her file. Urd attempted to unlock it, but she was met with an Access Denied error.

"That's strange. Why can't I open this file?!" Urd growled at the terminal. Hearing some of the workers coming back, she quickly noted who saved the file. "Commander Rind, Office of Special Duties." Urd logged out of the terminal with haste and ran out of the room just before the others entered from the other side.

Urd ran back to her apartment and quickly flipped on the television, teleporting herself back to Japan.

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Belldandy was in the kitchen fixing lunch for four of them when Urd came blasting through the television.

"Urd?" Keiichi asked startled as he stood up from the couch.

Belldandy came running into the living room.

"Did you find anything out?" she eagerly asked.

"Yes…..and no." Urd responded cryptically.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Megumi asked, also now standing up beside her brother.

"Have a seat and I'll explain." Urd replied.

Belldandy turned down her cooking to a low simmer, while Megumi and Keiichi both took a seat opposite of Urd on the couch. Finally joining them was Belldandy, who sat next to Keiichi.

"As you know, Bell, I went up to heaven to see if I could find any info on little Skuld. I did find something of interest." Urd explained.

"What did you find?" Belldandy asked with anxiety.

"I found an encrypted letter in her personal file on Yggdrasil, along with a bunch of license upgrade requests…all of which were denied." Urd stated.

"Oh my….I wonder how long she has been trying to get upgraded….she never mentioned anything to me." Belldandy said.

"That's not really of interest. The encrypted letter is. Now, I couldn't decipher it, but I was able to read who submitted it into her file." Urd said.

"Who?" Keiichi asked.

"Commander Rind." Urd replied with dread.

"Commander … who?" Keiichi asked.

"Rind. She's one of the lead officers in the Special Duties, Combat Division, known as the Valkyries." Belldandy stated.

"You told me of them once before." Keiichi remembered.

"Yes. I did." Belldandy confirmed.

"I wonder what Rind is up to with Skuld." Urd commented.

"I guess we'll find out when the time is right." Megumi said optimistically.

"Oh Skuld…" Belldandy said with a worried tone.


	4. Follow Your Heart

**Disclaimer:** Ah! My Goddess and all its associated characters are owned by their creator, Kosuki Fujishima ( © 1988 – 2007 ) Any other characters specifically created for this fictional work are fictitious. Any similarity to any persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

My personal gratitude goes to Mr. Kosuki Fujishima for creating the wonderful Manga, characters, settings, and plots that this fiction is based on.

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Mist and Skuld continued walking for what felt like a few miles. Finally Mist stopped in the middle of a cleared field of cut grass.

"Where are we?" Skuld asked, looking around at the landscape.

"Someplace calm." Mist answered. "Lie down." She said calmly.

"Huh?" Skuld replied.

"Just do it. Lie down on the ground." Mist commanded again.

Skuld looked at Mist with distrusting eyes. Taking in a breath, she reluctantly did as she was told and lied down on the ground with her legs straight and knees together. She gently placed her hands on her stomach.

"Now, close your eyes, and take a few relaxing, deep breaths of air." Mist paused. "Calm your mind."

Skuld did as she was told. After a minute of breathing, Mist could tell that she was relaxed enough to begin. Taking a spot of grass next to Skuld's resting body, she gently grabbed her left hand and asked, "Take us to the first place you met Dirk."

"But I don't know--" Skuld defended, but Mist cut her off.

"It doesn't matter. Let your heart guide you, if your love with him was such a strong bond, then listen to your heart, for it will guide you." Mist calmly explained. "Describe it to me." she tacked on the end.

Skuld took another breath and recalled the images of that first day with Dirk.

"I….was lying in the middle of a road. My feet and hands were bound, and I couldn't move. I heard an engine coming towards me. I begged that it wasn't that van, and luckily it wasn't. The driver almost hit me, veering away at the last moment. His tires squealed loudly, leaving black tread marks on the road. I heard a door open, and a chiming alarm. He said something to me, but I … don't know what it was. I remember being lifted off the ground and carried in his arms…a moment later; he gently put me in a seat and strapped me in." Skuld reminisced.

As Skuld was describing the scene in her mind, the two goddesses vanished from the field. A few moments later both of them appeared lying in the middle of a curvy road. Not a car was around. Mist stood up and gently tugged on Skuld's hand. She opened her eyes and stood up, feeling a bit lightheaded, and stumbled a bit. Luckily Mist caught her before she collapsed to the ground.

"Does this look familiar?" Mist asked.

Skuld took a glance around. It defiantly looked like the same road. Looking down further, she saw a set of tire tracks embedded in the asphalt.

"Yes. This is it!" Skuld exclaimed.

"Good. Now let's get out of the middle of the road before somebody does come and runs into us." Mist suggested.

The two girls walked over to the side of the road, again Mist grabbed Skuld's hand.

"Now, let's go to the next place you were at." Mist said. "Just close your eyes, and remember it. Your heart will guide you there again." She reminded Skuld.

Skuld again did as she was asked, her heartbeat accelerated as the two girls once again vanished, and appeared inside of a Dairy Queen, sitting at a table. Hearing the background voices, she opened her eyes and looked around. In front of her was Mist sitting in front of a large window, a view of the lunch time traffic rolled behind her.

"This was the same seat I sat in. I remembered we had ice cream. He was so sweet to pay for me." Skuld blushed a bit with a smile.

"What did you have?" Mist asked.

"I had a …um…. vanilla shake and um…. two banana splits." She paused. "…and most of his banana split too."

A man in a red and white uniform approached the table. "Can I get you anything?" he asked.

Mist looked at the man and confidently smiled, saying, "Yes. I'll have a banana split, and she'll have a vanilla shake, and two banana splits."

"Okay, coming right up." He paused before turning around, and looked at Skuld. "Say, I remember you." he paused again. "…looks like everything turned out okay after all, huh?"

Skuld stared at the older man in shock. "Um… yeah…I guess so." Skuld shyly replied.

The man walked away from the table. A few minutes later he returned with the order. Setting down the tray, he looked at Skuld.

"Consider this one on the house, okay? I'm glad to see you're alright." He said, and then walked away back to his station.

"Looks like you were a bit popular here. What happened?" Mist asked.

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Kevin approached Dirk's desk and knocked on his cubical. "Ready to go?" he asked.

"Yeah, in just a minute." Dirk said, as he logged off of his computer terminal. Once it was done, he shoved the keyboard tray under the desk and stood up.

"Yeah, let's go." Dirk said exasperated.

The two men left the room and walked down to the parking lot.

"I'll drive today. Got any preferences?" Kevin asked.

"I don't care. Just 'out'." Dirk said clearly frustrated.

"Okay. Your wish is my command." Kevin chuckled.

Both Kevin and Dirk got into Kevin's two door Thunderbird and rolled down the windows. It was a beautiful day outside, and Kevin had already removed his T-top roof panels. He started the engine and entered the lunch time rush hour.

The ride was quiet. Dirk just stared out the window, letting the wind whip his brown hair in all different directions, while Kevin kept his eyes on the road. Every once and a while, he glanced over towards Dirk, seeing that he was in his own world he asked. "You thinking of her again?"

"How can I help not to? She's on my mind almost all the time. This morning… I could hardly concentrate on a single task. All I kept imagining was her smile staring at me and her long black hair blowing in the wind." Dirk replied, revealing the source of his irritation.

"Sounds like you might need to go see a shrink." Kevin suggested.

"I'm not going to any shrink…even if it kills me. I don't trust those quacks." Dirk argued.

Kevin chuckled as he pulled into a parking lot. Stopping the engine both men got out of the car, and entered the restaurant.

"Welcome to Dairy Queen, how may I help you?" An older man asked cheerfully.

"You know, I've been meaning to come here and check this place out. Supposedly this store has a revolutionary new layout… and service to go with it." Dirk whispered to Kevin.

"Hey, this'll be my treat okay. You've got enough stress on your mind right now." Kevin gave a quiet chuckle.

"I'll have a number 4 with an extra large chocolate shake and he'll have…" Kevin trailed off, glancing at Dirk.

"Just a number 1 with a deluxe banana split." Dirk said with a bored tone.

"Coming right up. Go ahead and choose a table, and I'll bring out your food when it's ready." The man said.

Kevin and Dirk went over to a table towards the front of the restaurant. Both men sat down and resumed their previous conversation.

"What am I stressed about?" Dirk bluntly asked.

"Oh, let's see…. Loosing your girlfriend….whom by the way, I heard over the grapevine that she was cheating on you with Bob in Accounting. Ah…. Your overworked, under paid, and now you're having dreams about some girl…..and based on what you just told me, they're getting more intense. So yeah, I'd say you're pretty stressed out, Dirk." Kevin rambled.

"This is a nice place." Dirk abruptly changed the subject as he glanced around the dining room. A few moments later, their food arrived.

"Yeah, I like what they did. It's a real treat to be served at a DQ, rather than doing everything yourself." Kevin agreed with Dirk, taking a quick glance around the room.

Dirk started with his banana split first. The cool, creamy flavors melted on his tongue, giving him a moment of pure ultimate pleasure. He looked up again and began to glance at various people in the room.

"People watching again?" Kevin said jokingly.

"Yeah. You'll find it's incredible what people do without realizing it. Sometimes, there's a good show to be offered as well – " Dirk said and abruptly dropped his pink plastic spoon on the table.

"What?" Kevin asked dumbfounded. Dirk was completely unresponsive as he sat there and stared at a table a few feet away. Kevin followed Dirk's gaze to see he was staring at a couple of girls a few tables down. One of them was a bright red head, wearing a complicated dress outfit decorated in hues of green and blue. The other girl had long black hair, wearing an adorable pink outfit and appeared to be younger than the first girl.

"Is that her?" Kevin asked waving his hand in front of Dirk's face.

"Yeah. Oh my god…that is her." Dirk almost whispered.

"Hey, I've got an idea." Kevin paused and smiled at his younger colleague.

"What's that?" Dirk asked, still staring.

"Why don't you go introduce yourself to her. Who knows, maybe you'll score her phone number." Kevin prompted.

"Yeah, right. What am I supposed to say: 'Excuse me, but you've invaded my dreams…. and I want to go out with you…' Yeah, I suppose that would go over really well." Dirk said sarcastically.

"You've never flirted with a girl before…have you?" Kevin asked rhetorically.

"Um…not really. I mean…..I did…..once……but …it was Karen's friend that introduced her to me." Dirk squirmed in his seat.

"Oh boy…. Looks like I've got my work cut out for me. Alright, we'll both go over there and I'll show you how it's done, okay?" Kevin suggested.

"I really don't know…what if—" Dirk panicked.

"What if what? She says 'No'? Trust me, in the dating game, that's the worst thing that could happen. All she'll say is no, or she'll return your conversation … if she's a nice girl, she'll do the latter of the two." Kevin explained.

"Now, come on. Let's go start a friendly conversation." Kevin said as he began to stand up.

"Wait. Where's she going?" Dirk exclaimed as he saw Skuld get up from her seat and walk towards the back of the dining area.

Kevin gave a little chuckle. "You see that sign?" Kevin pointed out the Rest Room sign in the back of the room.

"Yeah." Dirk answered, feeling stupid.

"Alright, now let's go. Follow my lead. When she comes back to the table, you can start up a conversation with her. We'll get her … mom? I guess to introduce you two." Kevin said standing up, dragging Dirk by his wrist as the two guys approached the table.

Kevin approached the front of the table and stood in front of the red-head, who glanced up at him.

"Excuse me, miss. My friend here is interested in talking to your … companion, and he is wondering if you could introduce her to him." Kevin said smiling gently.

"I don't think that would be wise." Mist responded coldly.

"… Okay, well then allow me to introduce myself to you. That way I hope that we can become friends. – " Kevin replied.

"I'm really not interested." Mist said looking away towards the restrooms.

"I'm Kevin, and this here is—" Kevin started.

"Dirk?!" Skuld exclaimed in confusion as she entered the dining room again, seeing him standing next to Mist.

Dirk turned his head to see Skuld standing there in the middle of the aisle way. Her eyes were wide, and welled up with tears. Moments later, she came running down the aisle and gave Dirk a tight hug, wrapping her legs around his back as she sobbed tears of joy into his shirt. Dirk just stood there like a stooge, not knowing what to do.

"Well, why don't you hug her back, Dirk? It's clear that she knows you." Kevin suggested.

Dirk took Kevin's advice and slowly wrapped his arms around the young girl.

"Lavender." He spoke softly as he inhaled deeply. The aroma had triggered a memory of a sweetness that this girl seemed to have possessed in his dreams.

A few of the customers sitting around watching the events unfolding began to clap and cheer, seeing the couple reunited.

"Skuld loosened her grip on Dirk and looked up into his blue eyes. Quietly she said, "I don't understand… you were dead…I watched you die."

"Huh?" Dirk replied, in obvious confusion.

"It doesn't matter. You're alive…and with me again…and I never want to loose you….ever again." Skuld said happily.

"How do you know me?" Dirk asked.

Skuld looked over towards Mist with unsure eyes. "You mean he doesn't remember me?" she asked her.

"Probably not, Skuld." Mist simply answered.

Skuld. That's your name?" Dirk asked.

"Yes, yes it is." She replied cheerfully.

"Skuld? Could you tell me why I've been seeing you in my dreams night after night, even though I've never seen you before?" Dirk inquired.

"Why don't we all go someplace a little more private and … make conversation." Mist interrupted and stood up.

"Sounds great to me." Kevin replied.

Mist took Skuld by her hand, which she drug Dirk along with her, not releasing her tight hold on Dirk's wrist. Kevin just walked beside his friend as the four of them left the restaurant and stood in front of Kevin's car.

"Shall we take your car, or mine?" Kevin asked, looking at Mist assuming like every other normal American adult that she drove.

"Um…we walked." Skuld blurted out.

"Alright, then my car it is. It's unlocked. Dirk, why don't you sit in the back with your new friend, and let the adults here sit in the front. It sounds like you two have a lot to talk about." Kevin directed, opening the passenger door, and flipping the seat forward. Skuld climbed in first, tugging Dirk along with her. Once he was sitting next to her, Kevin flipped the seat back to its original position and offered Mist a hand to get in. Mist sat down, looking out the front window as Kevin gently shut her door. Skuld moved close up against Dirk's body, putting her arm around his upper back. She grabbed his left hand with her left hand, making sure not to let go of her love. A moment later Kevin got in, started the car, and drove away.


	5. Key to My Heart

**Disclaimer:** Ah! My Goddess and all its associated characters are owned by their creator, Kosuki Fujishima ( © 1988 – 2007 ) Any other characters specifically created for this fictional work are fictitious. Any similarity to any persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

My personal gratitude goes to Mr. Kosuki Fujishima for creating the wonderful Manga, characters, settings, and plots that this fiction is based on.

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Dirk's heart raced as he felt her warmth cover his entire left side. 'Why does she have to sit so close.' Dirk thought to himself as he tried and failed to inch his way towards the passenger door. Mist and Kevin were busy having a private conversation up front. Well, not necessarily private, but considering that neither Skuld nor Dirk could a word of what they were talking about, it was deemed private.

Skuld glanced over towards Dirk. She sensed that he was very tense and rigid. She could feel his pulse in his clammy hand. He looked dead ahead into the seat back of where Mist was sitting. She backed off of Dirk, scooting a few inches away from him. Turning her head towards him she asked, "Are you okay?"

"Um… I guess so." he timidly answered back.

"You don't remember anything about me, do you?" Skuld asked rhetorically with a hint of disappointment.

"I've never met you before, so how could I possibly know anything about you…..other than the fact that you're pretty…. and I see you in my dreams at night." Dirk calmly replied.

"You saw me in your dreams?" Skuld asked with optimism.

"Yeah. While I enjoy seeing you, it makes it really hard to get a good nights' sleep." Dirk answered.

Skuld blushed at hearing his response. Moments later Kevin pressed hard on the brakes allowing a zooming yellow sports car to cut him off and speed ahead.

"What did you dream about?" Skuld asked, continuing the conversation.

"I don't remember too much…. Just you…really. There's backgrounds, but they're too blurry to make out. In a couple, I can tell I'm outside, another, I know I'm inside, or laying down, but beyond that, I have no clue." Dirk explained.

"You smell like fresh Lavender." Dirk pointed out from nowhere.

"Yeah?" Skuld asked. "You said that about me …. earlier." she commented.

"I always awoke from my dreams smelling it." Dirk continued.

"Hey Skuld! Why don't you try giving access to your memories?" Mist yelled back, grinning with an unseen smirk.

"That's an awesome idea!" Skuld naively exclaimed. "But I've only done it once before." she worried.

"Just do it! I command you to!" Mist barked.

"Okay…." Skuld sighed nervously.

"Is she your daughter or something?" Kevin asked, glancing over towards Mist.

"No, she's my…. student." Mist said.

"How is she going to…you know…..share her memories? It sounds out of this world. What kind of teacher are you?" Kevin asked intrigued with curiosity.

"I'll explain all of that later, right now, just keep driving." Mist replied.

Skuld shifted herself so she was sitting facing towards Dirk.

"Since there's not much room in here, we'll have to sit this way…" Skuld began to explain.

"Sit facing me, and… put your legs on the seat….no… straight …yeah, like that." Skuld instructed, as Dirk swiveled to face Skuld, and then put his straightened legs on the seat next to him, towards Skuld. Skuld slid her right leg against the back of the seat and slowly scooted herself onto Dirk's lap, folding her legs in back of Dirk.

Once she was in position, she gently placed her thumbs on Dirk's forehead and the rest of her fingers on his temples and further back.

"Place your hands, just like I did, but on my head, and look into directly into my eyes." Skuld instructed further.

Dirk reluctantly did as he was asked and stared into her large brown eyes, which were only inches away from his own face. Skuld began chanting something softly, and slowly got louder as time passed.

"_Iro nagatra weva nouh gryed fi paoe kynac. Isonetra nomenta ikoragetta yonder eh. Fooma haopa needu oumra featra nannop quartip menip._"

Dirk saw a flash of light and then Skuld's memories, one by one entered his mind in a random fashion. He saw ice cream cones, and engine parts, a homemade robot, and a room decorated in Norse influence. Hot public baths, a Japanese young man with a brown haired young woman wearing all blue. Another older woman entered his mind with long white hair, then Urd flashed superimposed on top of her. He saw himself as a younger teenager. A moment later, he saw herself in a mirror wearing a black lingerie and then his bare chest with her hands on pressing against it. He saw his own eyes moving back and forth, and felt odd sensations. Flashes of being tickled and eating meals, lots of rice, fish, and some exotic fruits he hasn't seen before. Sounds of music filled his ears, and he felt as though he was floating and spinning around the room he was just in. A picnic outside, gunshots fired. He saw himself shot thought his chest, blood soaking the ground. More flashes, now in front of a complicated array of play stations linked together, viewing some sort of computer code, a screwdriver, a wrench. A silver car heading straight for him, swirving and just missing him as he saw nothing but the shaded asphalt under him. Wrists and ankles burned, and were sore. Levitating rocks and odd machines, some small, others large. A giant tree, a computer terminal, lots of white bunny rabbit looking things with more legs than are normal. The insides of a television set, fried microchips, and a man dressed mostly in black. Seeing himself hanging from up high, he felt as though he was restrained to something, unable to move, hearing the sound of clothing rip. The inside of a van, three men in a small airplane, his head felt pain in several places, and at the same time, he felt intense pleasure from down lower. Traveling through tunnels of rainbows, like a huge maze, lots of water surrounding him, burning him, running out of air.

"Look out!!" Mist yelled

Kevin slammed on his breaks, causing his tires to squeal, the person in back of him rammed into his bumper, causing his car to keep moving forwards down the road, but sideways. Kevin looked out his window to see a fuel tanker truck smashing through a bridge overhead, and taking out the supports with its trailer as it swerved to the left, blocking all passing traffic. Vehicles from above flew off the bridge onto the expressway below, loud sounds of crashes and explosions erupted through the air.

Almost instinctively or perhaps it was a reflex to sensing danger, a water bubble formed around the four occupants of the car, not a moment too soon, cars from almost every direction smashed into the Thunderbird, completely totaling the car. Another car from behind came flying into the air, unable to stop in time, launching off of the hood of a car turned backwards on the road way. Moments later, it came crashing down just in front of Kevin's demolished car, causing a giant fireball to erupt from its gas tank igniting.

It only lasted a few seconds, but for Kevin those few seconds lasted minutes – hours. He looked over to Mist, seeing that she was okay, and unharmed. Both of them turned around to see Skuld and Dirk still locked in a trance. Skuld was blushing a dark red tint all over her body.

"Why is she blushing?" Kevin asked.

"Most likely, she's embarrased. She's just given him access to all of her memories. She can try to limit the exposure, but I don't think that happened, since their still connected." Mist explained.

"How….Huh…What….Who…?" Kevin asked at once.

It's simple. Mist said, as she leaned back and tapped Skuld on her shoulder. Unresponsive, she punched the young girl on her chest, forcing her loose her grasp on Dirk's head, and she fell over backwards, hitting her head on the drivers side door.

"Ow…" Skuld whined.

Dirk shook his head and took a few deep breaths, holding his own head, before he noticed Skuld was still sitting—or laying on his lap. Giving her hand up, she sat upright again. He pulled her close to him and gave her a loving hug, rubbing his hands on her back.

"It looks like it worked, Skuld. Congratulations." Mist smiled. She turned back towards Kevin and resumed her conversation with him. "As I was saying—", she was cut off by Dirk.

"You're a goddess….my goddess. I remember everything now….and probably some things I didn't need to know." He chuckled softly, holding her warm body close to his. "Like the fact that you didn't have to sit on my lap to do this… you naughty little girl." Dirk teased smiling, which caused Skuld to blush a deep magenta.

"Goddess?" Kevin asked.

"Yup." Skuld confirmed glancing at Kevin. We're goddesses. I am Skuld, Goddess Second Class, First Category, Limited License."

"You forgot Valkyrie in training." Mist added. "I am Mist, Goddess First Class, Combat Category, Limited License." Mist officially introduced herself.

"So you only look 14… but your—" Dirk started.

"Don't say it out loud!!!" Skuld exclaimed tearing herself from Dirk's embrace.

"What's wrong Skuld…. Afraid he's going to dump you for being – " Mist teased.

"Shut up!" Skuld whined glaring at Mist.

"I would never dump you. I love you too much…especially now, since I know the honest truth." Dirk said with care.

"No, it was never the wish, Skuld, it was me. The wish only made things…. easier…. easier for both of us." Dirk bluntly explained as if he had read her mind.

"You're wish…." Skuld whispered.

"Mist? Do you know what happens when a contract is terminated due to death, but the recipient isn't really dead?" Skuld asked.

"Huh?" Mist looked puzzled.

"You know… Dirk's contract. It terminated when he died a few days ago. I know because at that moment I remembered everything." Skuld paused. "But he's obviously not dead…which means …" Skuld trailed off.

"Which means what?" Kevin asked.

"I don't know. But I think I do know somebody that might." Skuld said closing one eye.

"Don't bother Skuld." Mist reminded.

"Huh? Why not?" Skuld argued.

"Because you're under Trial Arrest. The only deities you're allowed access to are Rind and myself." Mist explained. "At least until your training is complete."

"Okay fine. Then I'll access Yggdrasil myself!" Skuld announced.

"You're access has been…. suspended." Mist said plainly.

"But then…who's … debugging the system?" Skuld panicked.

"I have no idea…maybe nobody." Mist shrugged. "The last time I checked, you were the only deity besides your sister Urd who was qualified or had the time to debug the system."

"But… Urd can't enter Heaven!" Skuld exclaimed.

"You're right, she can't." Mist agreed.

"What else does she need to learn?" Dirk asked.

"Skuld needs to pass the First Class examination, and then be able to pass the Special Duty examination…. with flying colors." Mist replied.

"First Class?" Skuld gasped.

"Yes." Mist assured Skuld.

"Are all Valkyries First Class holders?" Skuld asked.

"Most of us are." Mist said with a hint of hesitation.

Sirens were heard from behind them coming rapidly from a distance, followed by the sounds of a couple of helicopters hovering above.

"… and soon you will be one of our most powerful Valkyries." Mist said enthusiastically.

"I want to help her." Dirk said looking into Skuld's brown eyes.

"You can't directly help her, Dirk….but during her resting time…" Mist paused, giving a devilish smile towards Skuld. "I don't see any reason why you two can't be together. You two appear to be soul mates after all."

"Does she have any study materials for her examinations?" Dirk asked.

"No. She will either know, or not know, when it is time." Mist answered.

A few firemen arrived at the smashed up car, seeing that it was one of the few that still had people alive inside. A couple of minutes later, along with the loudest noise imaginable, the four occupants were freed from the twisted death trap. Kevin and Mist took the lead walking over to the shoulder of the road, with Skuld and Dirk behind them, gently holding each other's hand. Once they reached the side of the road, Mist announced, "Okay, let's get back to work, Skuld."

"Can't you see she's exhausted?" Dirk interrupted.

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"So?" Mist said, grabbing Skuld and Kevin by their hands. A moment later they vanished and appeared back in Heaven, inside Mist's training building. Mist released their hands and immediately shoved Skuld to the floor with a powerful push.

"Hey!" Dirk shouted at Mist.

"Stay out of this…Mortal!" Mist barked back. Skuld rolled into the fall, performing a backwards summersault. Quickly she leapt to her feet yelling, "Skuld-chan! I call upon thee!" An instant later a double bladed sword fizzled into Skuld's hands. The young goddess charged Mist at a full sprint, her sword meeting the metal of her whip. Kevin and Dirk backed away from the two girls as they fought.

"Isn't she sexy. I always did love a girl that could kick ass." Kevin cheered.

"Who's sexy?!" Dirk glared at his friend.

"Mist of course! Skuld is cute, but a little too kiddy looking for me." Kevin laughed.

"I'll take that as a complement." Dirk said as both men parted, leaving a passage for the two girls who where slashing metal at each other.

"Skuld….. why don't you use your magic….?" Mist grunted softly, her whip entangled around the black haired beauty.

"I can't." Skuld replied plainly.

Mist yanked hard on her whip, causing Skuld to drop to the floor, loosing her grip on her sword as it went flying off in a random direction.

"Attack me!!" Mist screamed at Skuld, inches away from her face, as she crawled on top of her.

"Fine!" Skuld yelled back. She closed her eyes tightly, and whispered something to herself.

"What's that? I can't hear you!" Mist yelled again.

Ignoring the bantering from Mist, Skuld kept her concentration. A few moments later, her sweat began to eat through her clothes, and finally the whip that was keeping her restrained.

"Ah! That burns!" Mist cried out leaping off of the girl. "Very clever." She complimented her ingenuity.

Moments later Skuld broke free of the metal snare, and leapt up to her feet and charged straight at Mist. Pushing Mist on her chest, Mist whipped around, grabbing Skuld by her arms and tearing her sleeves off of her weakened pink shirt. The result was Skuld flying into the far wall. Mist charged Skuld at a full sprint, but Skuld anticipated her move and close lined her with her spread legs, rolling herself on top of Mist, and rising to her feet once her back hit the floor.

"Looks like you're going to get a free peep show if this keeps up." Kevin commented to Dirk, grinning slightly.

"MIST!" The door slammed open, as a very pissed off silver and blue haired goddess named Rind entered the building. Both girls stopped in mid combat as if somebody hit the pause button on their VCR.

"Everyone outside! … Except for you, Mist!" Rind ordered. Without words Skuld, Dirk, and Kevin silently left the room. Kevin quietly shutting the door behind him.

"What was that all about?" Kevin asked, looking at Skuld.

Skuld just shrugged her shoulders. The three of them could hear the yelling all the way outside from the very soundproofed structure.

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"Just what in the hell do you think you were doing to that young goddess?!" Mist glared at Mist.

"Doing what?" Mist naively asked, not remembering what she had done, or when she had done it.

Mist pulled out a little screen and flipped the video playback on. Displayed was Mist climbing on top of Skuld, slowly undressing her, before Skuld began to fight back in desperation.

"Oh … that." Mist recalled.

"Explain yourself!" Rind yelled, her breath blowing Mist's hair back.

"You told me to use accelerate her training…. So I did whatever I had to … to motivate her." Mist paused, "Threatening to rape her was the most effective way I could think of. You have to admit, that nobody enjoys such unpleasant encounters." Mist replied calmly.

"Keep that thinking up, and you might just find yourself demoted to Second Class." Rind promised. "I never want to find out you've done anything remotely as distasteful…ever again." Rind said, turning on her heel and storming out of the building.

"Get out of my way!" She barked, shoving Skuld to the side, forcing her to loose her balance, and falling to the ground.

"Hmph. Pathetic." Rind commented, seeing Skuld's lack of coordination from the corner of her eye.

Dirk came up to Skuld, and extended his arm for Skuld to grab onto, assisting her off the ground. Her pink rags flapped in the gentle breeze as she stood up.

A moment later Mist came to the door, and confidently said, "I think that's enough training for one day. Why don't you two... reacquaint yourselves again?" She suggested as she left the building, and grabbed Kevin by his upper arm.

"I want to show you something." She said to Kevin, leading him away from the two younger beings.

"So now what? Dirk asked Skuld.

Skuld gazed down to the ground and fiddled with the end of her hair, before looking up into Dirk's blue eyes. "Do you …. think … we could um… start…where we…um….left off at?" She asked hesitantly.

"It's not the same as your room… and I don't suppose there would be any eavesdroppers this time." Dirk replied as he pulled the door shut holding Skuld gently by her hand.

"You mean it?" Skuld could barely be heard from the other side of the door.

"As long as you're okay with it." Dirk replied, the click of a light switch being turned off followed.

"I can't see!" Skuld exclaimed, tripping over something on the floor.

"That's okay, just kiss me instead." Dirk replied, and silence followed.


	6. I Believe in You

**Disclaimer:** Ah! My Goddess and all its associated characters are owned by their creator, Kosuki Fujishima ( © 1988 – 2007 ) Any other characters specifically created for this fictional work are fictitious. Any similarity to any persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

My personal gratitude goes to Mr. Kosuki Fujishima for creating the wonderful Manga, characters, settings, and plots that this fiction is based on.

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"So what is it you wanted to show me?" Kevin asked Mist as she continued to pull him by his arm.

"Nothing really. I just wanted to give Skuld a bit of privacy." Mist admitted, giving a slight grin.

"Ohhh." Kevin said realizing what she had set up. "Say, since we're out and about…" Kevin paused. "Is there anything to eat?" Kevin inquired.

"Sure there is." Mist replied cheerfully. "Follow me." She said as she dropped her tug down to just holding his hand.

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It was dark, and neither Skuld, nor Dirk could see anything. It didn't matter though, as they felt each other, holding each other by their hand. Finally making it over to the bed, Skuld tripped over the side of the bed, taking Dirk down on top of her. Her heart was beating a million miles a minute, and Dirk could feel it beating through her chest.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly.

"Oh, um…yeah. Yes I am. Thank you." She replied.

Dirk leaned his head down and softly kissed Skuld on her lips. Skuld kissed back. Dirk knelt on his knees, straddled across Skuld's laying body. Still kissing her, he moved down her torn clothes, carefully and slowly removing her shirt.

Skuld broke away. She desperately wanted to continue, she wanted to feel close to him. But she couldn't.

"Dirk…" She paused. "I – I can't." she said.

"Why not?" Dirk curiously asked. "It's not like we haven't before… and besides, you told me you wanted to start off again where we left off at." Dirk was obviously confused.

"I want to… I really do. I want to be intimate with you so much. But … I can't. Not here." Skuld said in desperation.

"I'm confused." Dirk said plainly, sitting upright in the bed.

"We're in Heaven now…. and it's forbidden that mortals mix with goddesses." Skuld sadly said.

"Oh. I see." His response sounded a bit depressed.

"So … what are we going to do until tomorrow?" Dirk asked.

"I don't know." Skuld said, fighting her own emotions, her very body was protesting…loudly, screaming.

"Well, is hugging … and kissing illegal?" Dirk asked.

"I don't think so." Skuld replied with optimism.

"Okay, then that's what we'll do. Climb under the sheet and I'll… just cuddle with you for a while. We can just talk… for a while, okay?" Dirk schemed.

"Okay." Skuld answered, climbing under the sheet. Dirk followed a moment later.

"What are you doing?!" Skuld panicked.

"How can I cuddle with you if I can't hold you?" Dirk asked rhetorically.

"Oh. That's a good point." Skuld smiled, if only Dirk could see it though.

The two snuggled up closely, gazing into each other's eyes. Their eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness. Skuld could feel Dirk was fighting just as much as she was. She finally sighed.

"What's wrong?" Dirk asked.

"I guess as long as nobody finds out…." Skuld suggested as she unbuttoned her top button.

"But I thought—" Dirk protested.

"Shut up and kiss me." Skuld commanded, pulling his head to hers, and locking her lips around his.

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"Today has certainly been an interesting day. We hit both the record low and the record high all within three hours. I don't think I've ever seen weather this crazy in all my years of forecasting…" The television blared in the background. Belldandy and Urd stood looking out the front window to see snow rapidly accumulating. Already after a few minutes, four inches had fallen, with no sign of stopping.

"Something is terribly wrong, Urd." Belldandy worried.

"Yeah. I'll bet it's all that brat's fault too." Urd commented.

"You really shouldn't be so hard on her, Urd." Belldandy replied.

"Why not? She broke the rules, and now because of her, the entire climate system is messed up. Instead of being down here goofing off, she should have been debugging Yggdrasil!" Urd began yelling.

"Urd… you're assuming too much. Besides, there are others safeguarding Yggdrasil. I'm sure this will be remedied quickly.

"I'm glad you're so confident. I'm going to go take a nap." Urd said storming off to her room.

"I truly hope you are okay Skuld." Belldandy whispered up to the sky.

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"Here we are. What would you like?" Mist said, looking at Kevin. They stood in front of a building that resembled McDonalds.

"I didn't know there were McDonalds in Heaven." Dirk said, still in shock.

"Go ahead and pick something." Mist suggested.

"But how am I going to pay?" Kevin asked.

Mist laughed. "Don't worry about it."

"Okay, um…hi. I would like a number 4, make it a large, with one of those Sundae things." Dirk said kindly.

Mist looked at the servant behind the counter and continued. "I'll have what he's having."

After a few minutes of waiting, the two took a seat at a rounded table with cushioned seats.

"So how long have you and Dirk been friends?" Mist asked.

"Oh, not too long." He paused, taking a bite of his food. "I'd say maybe a couple of years."

"How did you two meet?" Mist pursued.

"At work. I guided him, and trained him. He's really a smart kid." Kevin replied.

"He doesn't look like a kid." Mist pointed out.

"Oh, he's still a kid alright, still not out of puberty yet….and naive as could be." Kevin said with a chuckle.

"Do you think he really loves Skuld?" Mist said giving a smirk.

"I'd don't really know. Perhaps it's just infatuation at this point. But then again, I don't know the whole story either." Kevin answered.

"You're that confident in your pupil?" Rind asked as she approached the table.

"Huh?" Mist looked up at Rind puzzled.

"To have left her, and not training with her this very moment." Rind said bluntly.

"Oh, I gave her the rest of the afternoon off, since she's been through so much." Mist replied.

"Since she's been through so much … what?" Rind asked.

"She used quite a bit of her power today, and with it being the first time in a while—" Mist explained.

"It doesn't really matter. Inform your student that she will be tested first thing tomorrow morning." Rind said walking away.

"But---" She called out, "she isn't ready yet." She whispered.

"Come on, there's no time to loose!" Mist said, getting up from the chair.

"Relax a moment. Finish your meal. Besides, you wanted to give Skuld some time to herself anyway." Kevin pointed out, grabbing her wrist. "A few more minutes isn't going to matter." Kevin reassured Mist.

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"Dirk…promise you'll never ever leave me….that you'll stay with me forever." Skuld said in between kisses.

"I promise." Dirk replied.

A brilliant blue light flashed in the room from Skuld's forehead, various things flew around the room for a few seconds. A moment later, just as fast as the room lit up, it was darkened again. Dirk and Skuld froze still holding each other tightly in each other's arms.

"Um…what just happened." Dirk asked Skuld quietly.

"I…. don't know." Skuld replied, and collapsed down on the bed, passing out and releasing her hold on Dirk.

"Skuld?...Skuld??" Dirk panicked trying to wake her.

She laid there in a gentle sleep. Remembering that this was nothing to be concerned about, Dirk rolled onto his back and shut his eyes, quickly falling asleep himself.

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Mist had finished her lunch. She tapped the table in anxiety waiting for Kevin to finish his sundae.

"Don't worry. She'll do fine." Kevin took another bite. "Besides, you trained her, right, and I've seen how good you two are."

"I was going easy on her. Rind's test is going to tear her apart in the morning." Mist replied plainly.

"Personally, I don't think a few extra hours of intense training is the answer. Skuld will probably need all the energy she can muster. Allowing her to rest is really the best thing to prepare her." Kevin said after wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"How would you know, Kevin?" Mist asked with skepticism.

"I was in the Army for twelve years before I retired. I know what kind of thoughts….and stress she would have before tomorrow. The best thing I think for her, would be just to let her rest, and spring it on her in the morning." Kevin answered.

"Okay. I'll try it your way." Mist reluctantly replied. "Come on. There's something I really want to show you this time." Mist said standing up. Kevin followed, and both of them left the restaurant.

They arrived at the headquarters for the Combat Division. Its entrance was lined with ornately detailed canvases depicting each Goddess that has successfully passed the Special Duty examination.

"Is this where you work?" Kevin asked admiring the art work.

"Yeah. Sometimes. But that's not the reason I brought you here." Mist replied, leading him down another hallway.

About five hundred or so feet, they stopped at a double paned glass observation lookout. Down below, Kevin witnessed an intense battle going on. Goddesses much older than Skuld, along with Angels were hurling weapons and magic at one another, not one sticking to any one target. It was a free for all.

"What are they doing?" Kevin asked.

"These are students that will be going up for their testing within the month. Skuld hasn't had this opportunity in training. Rind forbid it, unfortunately." Mist sighed.

"Why? If everyone else goes through this training, should everyone go through it?" Kevin asked.

"Because, I think she really wants Skuld to fail. You've seen how she treats her. At least with other students, occasionally they get a smile or a 'congratulations' after doing a good job. But Skuld hasn't gotten any of that positive reinforcement." Mist explained.

"All those gi…. Goddesses, appear to be much older than Skuld does." Kevin pointed out.

"Yes. They are." Mist replied.

"Why then did she get picked?" Kevin asked.

Mist sighed and took a seat in a nearby chair. "Up until a few days ago, we really didn't have an interest in Skuld. She was just a system debugger, a boring, repetitive, ungrateful job that has little reward. Then she killed three mortals, and got my attention. She was scheduled for trial to answer for her actions. Most likely she would have been…. severely punished." Mist said.

"Oh." Kevin answered.

"I saw how she fought against those humans. She had such relentless passion, such … hatred for evil. Even her oldest sister couldn't stop her from mincing that last guy."

"Sounds like she went a little crazy." Kevin said.

"I convinced Rind to allow me to train her. She has such awesome potential. Being a Valkyrie with a direct link to Yggdrasil as she has, would be a formidable advantage." Mist further explained.

"Ygg---drasil?" Kevin asked.

"Yes, the main computer system that governs the entire universe. It maintains the critical necessity of balance in nature. Only the Norns have such an intimate link with it." Mist answered.

"Who are the Norns? I'm assuming that Skuld is one of them?" Kevin inquired.

"Yes, First there is Urd, Goddess of the Past, next there is Belldandy, a younger goddess. She is the Goddess of the Present, and very powerful, being a First Class Goddess. Finally there is Skuld, a young maiden, she is Goddess of the Future, and has a knack for machinery and programs." Mist said.

"Goddess of the Future? Does that mean she controls the future?" Kevin asked.

"Sort of. She doesn't have a direct influence on it…at least not yet – perhaps in time she might, but that is her domain. Her primary duty is to maintain the stability of future events…which is constantly changing." Mist answered.

"So why does having a link to this Yggdrasil thing so important?" Kevin asked.

"Because with it she can … or will be able to directly determine the outcome of her battles." Mist revealed.

"So what's Rind's problem then?" Kevin asked.

"She thinks she's too uncontrollable." Mist replied.

"Is she?" Kevin inquired.

"With time…..no." Mist said sighing.

Kevin looked out to the combatants again, seeing how violently they were fighting. He turned back towards Mist and asked, "She won't get hurt….will she?"

"It is possible." Mist said, not looking at Kevin.

"Come on. Let's go talk to Skuld. Give her one final battle." He pulled on her arm as she started walking away, causing her to turn her head. "…and this time, give it all you've got." Kevin advised.

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Mist opened the door to her training building and flipped on the light. The scene was a disaster. Clothes were spread all over the floor, mostly from Skuld's wardrobe. She glanced over towards the bed to see the couple sound a sleep. Walking over towards the bed to wake Skuld, she blushed.

Skuld was laying with her head on top of Dirk's chest, and one arm across his stomach, facing the wall. Her black hair ran down her bare back, until it was met by the sheet covering her lower torso.

Mist leaned down and softly spoke into Skuld's ear. "Skuld…." She gently shook the young girl by her shoulder. "Oh, Skuld….." she called again. A few moments later, the form shuffled a bit, and she slowly opened her eyes, seeing the bare concrete wall behind Dirk's body.

"Huh?" Skuld twisted herself to sit flatly on the mattress and began to sit up.

"You might want to cover yourself up. You have an audience." Mist suggested.

Skuld looked over towards the door, the brilliant white sunlight blinded her for a moment. In the door way she saw Kevin obviously staring at the other plain, dull, and boring grey walls.

Skuld gasped as she pulled the sheet up to her neck.

"It's okay. Are you awake?" Mist asked.

"Duh." Skuld said flatly.

"Why don't you quickly put some clothes on….and wake your boyfriend up as well." Mist suggested, leaving the room with Kevin.

'Does she know?' Skuld thought to herself as she looked around the floor, finding another pink and red battle outfit. Quickly putting it on, she fastened her belt and straightened out the shirt squarely on her shoulders.

"Dirk?" Skuld said as she gently shook the young boy awake. She didn't notice right away, but he was a few years younger than he was a few hours ago.

"Huh?" he said as he wiped his eyes with his palms, and taking a deep breath. Meeting his eyes were a set a beautiful brown eyes with a gentle smile.

"Good morning. I'd like to wake up to that every morning." He cracked. "What happened?!" Dirk exclaimed.

Skuld giggled quietly and found a small round mirror, which she gave to him. He saw a much younger reflection of himself, complete with the acne that goes with mid-adolescence, lack of muscle tone, as well as the raging hormones taking over his thought processes when he glanced up to see his cute Skuld standing next to him…with him in her bed. He quickly dropped the mirror onto his lap.

"I think you look just as cute." Skuld said winking an eye at him.

"Is---is this what happened earlier---the blue…light?" Dirk assumed.

"I think so. But I don't understand how. I don't have that skill…to grant wishes." Skuld said.

"But I didn't make any wish…I think you did." Dirk replied.

"I did?" Skuld questioned herself.

"Are you two ready yet?!" Mist called from the outside of the door.

"In a minute, please!" Skuld shouted out the door.

"Here, you can put this on. Skuld said handing him a red shirt with a V-neck cut and lace trim running down the seams, and a pair of white shorts that came down to his quarter thigh.

"You're kidding…right?" Dirk said as he stood up and glancing down at himself.

"Sorry." Skuld shyly answered. "Okay. We're ready!" She called outside.

Mist came running in at top speed with her whip drawn, snapping it at Skuld as she came within range. Skuld grabbed onto Dirk's shirt and yanked him over to the right, dodging the blow.

"Skuld-chan!" she called, an instant later the sword materialized into her hands. Leaping up into the air, she descended down upon Mist with her sword ready to slice. Mist dodged the cutting blade and with a powerful gust of wind, blew Skuld against the far wall.

"Ah!" Skuld cried out. Mist stopped and stared at the girl sitting on the floor as she started to get up. Quickly another blast of wind blew her from the right, slamming her into the corner of two walls. Dirk ran over to Skuld asking, "Are you okay?"

Skuld saw Mist walking towards the two of them and screamed, "Look out!" Shoving him away from the impending danger. A hot stream of fire erupted from Mist's other hand, but Skuld was quick to react, forming a water shield to protect her from the majority of the heat. As fast as it formed, the shield evaporated, singeing Skuld's feet as she leapt into the air, landing behind Mist.

She raised her sword for another slash, but Mist knew she was already back there and with a twist of her wrist, her whip wrapped around Skuld, leaving her helplessly standing there. Mist turned around and extended both of her arms in front of her. She began chanting something, a fierce wind picked up inside the room as she chanted. Skuld struggled to break free from the metallic whip, finally getting her blade to make contact with the steel, slicing right though it like was hot butter.

Skuld dodged to the right, and took cover behind her wardrobe, moments later; a blast of electricity exploded the wooden chest into a hundred charred shards.. Mist walked up to Skuld's cowering body before Skuld realized her hiding place had been destroyed, and picked up the young goddess by her neck. Lifting her up high, she slammed the girl down onto the ground and quickly put all of her weight on Skuld. Gasping for air she glanced over towards Dirk, tears began to run down her eyes. She couldn't fend off Mist, not in this position.

"Admit defeat and I'll let you live." Mist growled into Skuld's ear.

"Skuld!" Dirk called from the far wall, next to Kevin.

"You can do it… you can defeat her….I believe in you!" Dirk called out again.

Skuld focused her eyes onto Mist with an angered glare. Using all of her strength, she rolled the elder goddess onto the floor with her now on top. She began pummeling Mist with balls of fist, one after another. Mist swept her legs into the air, the momentum forcing Skuld to fly off of her, landing onto the hard floor face first.

"Oww." Skuld moaned in pain.

Mist walked over to young girl and knelt down whispering in her ear, "Are you going to admit defeat?"

"NEVER!!" Skuld yelled, launching upwards, grabbing Mist by her neck, and sinking her teeth into Mist's neck. Quickly moving down, while being brow beaten by Mist's fists, she found an arm, and bit deeply into it, causing a drip of blood to pour out onto the grey floor. Mist launched Skuld high into the air, slamming her into a far wall by the ajar door.

Mist stood up and stumbled towards Skuld, who glared in return towards Mist. Outstretching her arms, she closed her eyes momentarily. A few seconds later, a blast of water came rushing out of her hands with the pressure of several fire hoses, spraying Mist back against the far wall.

After the water had died down, Mist ran towards Skuld at a full charge. Skuld also sprinted towards Mist. The two girls collided in the middle of the room, in a style of martial arts never before witnessed by the human eye. They flowed like the air and water, dodging swiftly, and hitting with an awesome force. Colors of blue and white erupted from each contact made between the girls. They locked each other in a myriad of holds, each one unrelenting on the other.

Mist struggled to force Skuld onto the floor, and her leg was visibly shaking from the pressure she was using. Skuld started loosing her tight hold on Mist's oncoming arm and began inching backwards.

Rind quietly watched from the entrance of the door as she snuck in, standing next to the two human mortals. A creepy grin showed on her face in approval of what she was seeing.

"Mist-chan! I call upon you to defend me and attack!" Mist cried out, as she just about was ready to loose her footing. A whip materialized around Skuld's body, making it easy to knock Skuld onto the floor. But before Mist could land on top of her, Skuld rolled away to the left.

"Skuld-chan! Please rescue me!" Skuld begged. The sword fizzled into Skuld's hands, allowing her to quickly slice the whip off of her body, but not before Mist had grabbed Skuld's ankles, and picked her up, twirling in the middle of the room, as Skuld's body and hair extended outwards from the circle she was making. A minute later, Mist released the girl, and Skuld landed head first, buried into the side of a wall.

Mist picked up her whip and marched over to where Skuld was implanted into the concrete Taking strike after strike with her whip on Skuld's lower torso, blood started raining down her legs, and on to the floor under her.

"Mist! Stop it! You're hurting her!" Dirk exclaimed.

"So? What's your point? This is nothing, compared to what she'll face tomorrow." Rind said arrogantly.

Dirk rushed the woman Goddess that was whipping the life out of his love. He jumped up onto Mist's back and started beating her with every ounce of strength he had, causing both of them to collide onto the floor. Skuld slowly climbed out of the hole she had made, grabbing her stomach as she stumbled in pain towards Mist. Calling her sword once more she glared at the elder goddess. Mist twisted around and threw Dirk off of her back, he landed on the floor near Kevin.

"I wouldn't suggest trying that again. You were lucky to have survived." Rind commented.

Skuld calmly stumbled up to Mist, who was turning to see Skuld approaching, but she wasn't quick enough to react, as Skuld plunged one of the sword ends into Mist's belly.

"I surrender, Lady Skuld." Mist announced, and collapsed to the ground.

"Excellent. It looks like Mist was right about you after all. Be prepared for you final test in the morning." Rind said quickly turning and walking out the door.

Dirk and Kevin came running to the two goddesses. Dirk slid onto a slick spot of blood, landing next to Skuld. She sat there resting on her knees with her heels digging into her buttocks.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Dirk said with compassion.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Skuld quietly answered.

Kevin rolled Mist onto her back and threw the sword out of her wound. To his surprise there was no blood pouring out of her.

"Mist? Are you okay?" Kevin asked in confusion.

"Yeah. Skuld got me good. I didn't see that coming. I think she'll do just fine tomorrow." Mist gasped as she sat up, her wound was completely healed.

Dirk picked Skuld up and carried her to the bed. Her wounds too, were completely healed, but she passed out from all the energy she used, and was quietly sleeping.

"Is she going to be okay?" Dirk asked Mist.

"Of course she will be. Night, night you two. Get some rest." Mist said taking Kevin by his and shutting the door behind her.

"Rest…right. I do hope you're okay, Skuld, my darling." He said gently brushing her hair as he laid down next to her, carefully wrapping one arm around her waist. Moments later he fell asleep to the gently aroma of Lavender which filled the room.


	7. Goddess Tested

**Disclaimer:** Ah! My Goddess and all its associated characters are owned by their creator, Kosuki Fujishima ( © 1988 – 2007 ) Any other characters specifically created for this fictional work are fictitious. Any similarity to any persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

My personal gratitude goes to Mr. Kosuki Fujishima for creating the wonderful Manga, characters, settings, and plots that this fiction is based on.

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The room was dark. The only sounds were two breathing bodies in a deep sleep over in a corner of the room on top of a padded bed. Skuld was curled up on her side with Dirk supporting her backside. He had his arm draped over her chest and under her arm, as she held the sheet tightly against her body with it tucked underneath her. But that all ended when Rind opened and slammed the door shut, yelling at the top of her lungs.

"Get up!" she screamed, marching directly over towards the bed. She ripped the sheet off of the couple and grabbed Skuld's arm, dragging her out of Dirk's loose grip, forcing her to wake up on the cold concrete floor.

"Come on …. Move it, move it, move it!" Rind chanted, giving Skuld a light kick in her butt.

With Skuld finally being awake enough, she blushed and ran over to her closet, throwing on the first pink uniform she grabbed. It took her a record twenty seconds to get dressed.

Skuld, dear…please do something with that mop you call a hair do. You must present your best to be graded with perfection. Rind lectured.

Quickly running over to her closet again, she whipped out a brush and combed her hair pretty and straight, giving her bangs an extra lift for effect.

"Excellent. Follow me." Rind commanded.

Skuld hesitated and glanced back at Dirk who was just beginning to wake up.

"Come on. I'll have Mist fetch him in a while." Rind said in frustration.

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Skuld followed Rind to a light blue building with several windows wrapping around it. She recognized this place. It was the same place that Urd went to take her Licensing Exam. She contemplated in confusion why she was here first, instead of taking her Valkyrie test. Upon entering Rind stayed behind and instructed one of the staff that Skuld was to take her First Class examination immediately. Skuld glanced back for a moment receiving a dark stare, and then turned around to follow the staff worker.

He guided her to an empty room with a single desk and chair. There were no clocks, no decorations on the walls, just plain concrete brick painted over with a pleasant green tone. On the desk laid a closed test booklet and a pencil.

"Please have a seat, Skuld." The worker instructed her. After taking her seat, she rested her interlocked hands on top of the desk and patiently waited for her next instruction.

"You will have thirty minutes to complete the two-hundred question examination. Each missed question is worth five points. You must pass with at least a ninety percent to receive your license upgrade. You may begin as soon as I shut this door." He paused. "Do you have any questions?"

"Yes. May I use the rest room?" She asked.

"Yes you may. If you are not back within five minutes, consider this examination a failure. You may not apply to test again for ten cycles. (Roughly five-hundred Earth years.) Do you understand?"

"Yes. I will only be a moment. Where is it?" Skuld asked.

"Down the hall and the last door on the left." He replied.

Skuld got up out of her chair and walked out the door. Seeing that the hall way was quite a length, she sprinted towards the bathroom as fast as she could. It took her about a minute and a half to reach the door. Running in at top speed, she didn't bother to lock the door, she just found the first toilet and let her bladder go. After a quick sigh of relief, she threw her hands under the running water and ran back to the testing room, wiping her wet hands along her skirt as she ran. Luckily she still had about thirteen seconds left.

"Are you ready?" He asked again.

"Yes." She said. "Thank you." she tacked on at the end flashing a smile.

"Begin." He replied as he shut the door, pressing a button on a stopwatch around his neck.

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Dirk rushed out of the room, half dressed in a panic.

"Where did she go!? Where did she take her?" he almost screamed.

"Relax" Mist said standing propped up against a wall.

Dirk whipped around seeing Mist leaning against the wall next to the entrance door.

"She's just taking her test. Rind wanted me to let you know." Mist explained.

"Test? You mean she's battling for her life….and I'm not there!?" Dirk cried out.

"No, not that test, her First Class License exam." She paused. "Besides, you wouldn't be allowed in there with her anyway…not that she'd have time to notice you." Mist said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dirk inquired.

"It's quite simple. She's got half an hour to correctly answer two-hundred questions. She's only allowed to incorrectly answer four of those questions, and any questions she fails to answer at all are deducted at a single point each. Basically, she's racing the clock – she either knows the answers, or she doesn't." Mist explained.

"Oh…" Dirk replied as he walked back inside and threw a shirt on.

"I had to take the test three times myself before I passed." Mist admitted.

"Wow…it's that hard of an exam?" Dirk asked.

"I wouldn't call it difficult, per se. It's just very stressful. There's no clock in the room either, so you have no idea how much time you have left. It's very nerve racking." Mist said.

"Come on. I'll treat you to breakfast." Mist said pushing herself off the wall and leading the way towards the cafeteria.

"Skuld's a smart girl. I have every confidence in her that she'll pass." Dirk said with a smile.

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Belldandy quietly knocked on Urd's closed door. "Urd?"

After hearing nothing she opened the door, walked over to Urd's bedside and knelt down. "Urd?" She said again gently shaking her older sister awake.

"What….." Urd moaned slowly.

"Urd, I need to talk to you." Belldandy pleaded quietly.

"What's …wrong …now?" Urd asked.

"Something is terribly wrong. Come with me." She said, leading a half asleep Urd to the bathroom.

"Okay, what's the problem?" Urd asked.

Belldandy teleport through the mirror. A few seconds later, she reappeared on the floor as her teleportation was bounced back.

"That's what's wrong. I can't enter Heaven. Something is terribly wrong." Belldandy insisted.

"Let me guess. You want me to try to get into Heaven, use my Administration access to find out what's going on?" Urd guessed.

"Would you?" Belldandy asked with optimism.

Urd sighed and rolled up her sleeves. Something told her that she was going to regret this trip. She marched over towards the television and flipped it on. Reaching nothing but static she tilted her head with confusion.

"Is there something wrong with the T.V.?" Belldandy asked.

"I don't think so. We're probably just not getting a signal." She stepped through the screen, and was pulled into the television unit. Belldandy watched in horror as she saw Urd being pulled into an infinite set of televisions screens, each one approaching the screen that Belldandy was watching until it expanded past the screen size, revealing the next loop.

"What the hell?!" Urd's voice buzzed through the speaker.

"Um Belldandy?" Keiichi asked, stepping into the living room.

"Yes, Mr. Keiichi?" Belldandy answered without a hint of concern.

"Is this normal?" He pointed to his room.

Belldandy followed Keiichi to his room, to see white fluffy bug after bug hopping out through a hole in the wall. Belldandy yanked Keiichi away from the door and shut it quickly. Chanting a spell on the door, she surrounded his room with a protective barrier.

"I'm not really sure how long this is going to last. Something is really wrong…I know it now." Belldandy confirmed.

"I shouldn't be seeing those with my naked eyes….. Should I?" He asked rhetorically.

"No. You shouldn't." She answered.

"I fear that only Skuld is the one that can fix all of this. Urd and I are confined to Earth." Belldandy finally gave a hint of concern, mentioning her younger sister's name.

"I do hope everything turns out okay with her trial." She added as she walked into Skuld's room and picked up her debugging hammer, which was resting in the corner of her room.

"Do you have another one of those?" Keiichi asked.

"I don't know if she has any extra's here. Let's take a look, although, I really hate invading my sister's privacy. But if you can help, that would be wonderful, since I'm no where near as good as Skuld is at using this thing." Belldandy admitted.

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The door opened and the examiner snatched the test off of Skuld's desk. "Please report to the cafeteria for a quick breakfast. When you are finished, you are to report to the Valkyrie Testing Field."

Skuld got up from the desk and walked out of the room, down the hallway, and outside towards the cafeteria. After a few minutes of walking she entered, and ordered a huge pile of ice cream. Mist saw Skuld and flagged her down. Skuld sat down with relief at seeing Dirk sitting across the table from her.

"How do you think you did?" Dirk asked.

"I'm not sure." Skuld answered with hesitation. "I didn't finish."

"You'll find out by the end of the day. Now quickly eat up…. Is that all you're having for breakfast is … ice cream?" Mist asked.

"Yup!" Skuld answered cheerfully.

"That's not very healthy isn't it?" Mist asked rhetorically.

"For most people it's not, but for me, it's a secondary energy source. I've been feeling a bit run down lately, and this should just hit the spot." Skuld explained.

"Interesting." Mist said.

A couple of minutes later Skuld finished the entire tray of ice cream, while Mist watched in awe. Dirk just smiled.

"Okay, I'm ready!" Skuld said with a renewed enthusiasm.

"Alright, to the Combat Testing we go." Mist said standing up.

Mist opened the door and stepped out into the rain. "Rain?" Mist inquired to nobody.

"Oh no!" Skuld exclaimed with concern.

"What's wrong?" Dirk asked.

"Something's wrong with Yggdrasil. It's not supposed to rain in Heaven!" Skuld explained in a panic. "I have to go look at the System."

"No… you can't, Skuld. You're still restricted until you complete your training…. and pass." Mist replied.

"Come on, then! Let's hurry!" Skuld said as she began to run towards the Combat field.

'Well, this will certainly be interesting.' Rind thought as she watched the pouring rain making a muddy mess of the testing field.

Mist ran ahead of Skuld to open the gates. Dirk chased behind both goddesses. 'Man, they're fast!' he thought to himself.

"Hurry, Dirk! I don't want you locked out!" Skuld yelled, stopping for a moment, allowing Dirk to catch up with her.

Once at the testing grounds, Mist began giving instructions. "Dirk, we need you to sit in this protective area. You can observe the entire combat from here."

"I'll be alone in here the whole time?" Dirk inquired.

"No. I will also be with you. These tests are performed by the Expert Combat Guardians. I don't have that high of a classification yet." Mist explained.

"Skuld, you may enter the field." Mist pointed over towards the middle of the field.

Skuld slowly walked over towards the middle of the muddy field. It was pouring down rain, and she could barely see the other side of the arena.

"At least it's still pleasantly warm." Skuld said to herself.

Dirk observed Skuld from the observation booth. She was soaked from head to toe. It was about ten minutes before the test actually began with a single combatant charging the field straight toward Skuld.

"Skuld!!" He yelled as he stood up, trying to warn her of the upcoming danger. It was obvious that she didn't see the Valkyrie charging at her.

"Relax, Dirk. This booth is sound proofed from the inside. We'll be able to hear everything that's going on outside, but nobody out there can hear us." Mist explained.

The Valkyrie took Skuld completely by surprise, knocking the five foot girl into the mud. His force dragged her several feet, leaving a ditch in front of Skuld.

Skuld quickly got up, moments later she called her sword. "Skuld-chan!" Her double bladed sword materialized into her hands, just in time for her to duck and slash towards her attacker. Both combatants missed each other, but Skuld didn't see the other three attackers sneak up behind her. She found out the hard way, by being beaten down to the ground with their staffs. The first attacker took advantage of the situation and charged the fallen girl, slashing at her back while she was down. A bloody tear formed where the blade barely touched her skin. Two others continued beating her with their staffs, taking turns. The third staff combatant joined the original Valkyrie. Together they both charged Skuld again. Skuld however saw their attack while being pummeled further down into the mud. She raised her sword just in time to slash both pairs of legs charging her. The two tripped over her blades, leaving a bloody trail on the ground as they flew through the air, taking out the other two attackers. Skuld quickly got up and charged all four enemies, slashing and piercing with rage.

She had successfully taking out one of the staff attackers. He laid dormant on the ground where he was, in a bath of red blood surrounding him. The other three once again lined themselves up and charged Skuld at full speed. Skuld quickly chanted, "I am the Goddess Skuld. I command the droplets of water before me to shield me from my attackers!"

The rain formed a very tall, think wall in between Skuld and the three Valkyries. They couldn't stop in time and slammed into the wall as if it were made out of bricks. Moments later the wall dropped and formed a sphere around her attackers.

"Impressive." Rind commented from the side lines.

The lead Valkyrie slashed his way through the water bubble and ran towards Skuld, but she blocked his slash with her sword. Taking her left foot, she swiped it hard on his calves, causing him to collapsed to the ground on his side. She took her blade and raised it up in the air, with it's twin facing downwards right above his chest. With all of her force she dropped her arms down into his body. Blood splashed and squirted all over, most of it ending up on Skuld''s chest.

The remaining two attackers charged Skuld while she was taking out the swordsman, clubbing her on both sides and then swinging their staffs as if they were baseball bats. Skuld fell down to the ground in agony. She put her hands up to cast another spell, but they too were beaten down. Her forearms ached with such pain, she couldn't grip her sword any longer. Softly she uttered the words, "Spirits of…. the water, I… beg of you….. to heed my…. request….. Burn these…. who would….. attack…..me ….defenselessly…… Cut….into….their…… hearts… ….and…. make….. them…. hurt… as…. I… ache…. For…I ….. am……. the ……. Goddess….. of…. ….. Destiny ….. …. …. My …. name …. is … …. …. Skuld….. …. …." As she uttered the spell, her voice became softer and softer until it could barely be heard as a whisper.

The mud around Skuld's body and the two attackers began to bubble and swirl, as the rain also began to swirl, like a violent tornado of water. Steam erupted from the ground underneath her attackers, while the rain formed a boiling cage of acid. Slowly it began shrinking, their staffs were useless against Skuld's defensive attack. With each inch lost, the two staffs dissolved into nothingness. Finally enclosing the two remaining Valkyrie to the point of non-movement, they collapsed to the ground in agony.

Skuld slowly stood up and bowed before the rain. She picked up her sword and readied herself for more combat.

"Is she seriously going to continue fighting?" Dirk asked.

"Yes." Mist paused, glancing out the window to see Skuld stumbling around on the field of mud. "She must fight one other."

"Who?" Dirk asked naively.

"Her." Mist pointed at Rind as she walked out to the center of the field. She carried an axe with her as she confidently approached the weary Skuld.

"You may quit now, and save your life" Rind paused and grinned devilishly. "Or you may fight me, and quite possibly die where you stand."

Skuld looked up at Rind. Her hair was dripping with water as she stared through her black strands of hair. She frowned with a look of anger and rage. "You can try." She confidently replied back.

"Have it your way then! Spearmint…Coolmint!" Rind called. Her two angels appeared behind her.

"What!! That's not fair!" Dirk screamed.

"In battle…. things are hardly …. fair." Mist calmly explained.

Rind lifted her axe into the air and came down striking hard on Skuld, slashing diagonally across her chest. Her red blood stained her wet, pink shirt as it gapped open. Skuld grasped her chest as she screamed in pain. Rind wound up and came down for a second attack. This time slashing her across her right thigh. Skuld collapsed to the ground, dropping her sword into the mud.

"Do you surrender to me?" Rind glared at Skuld.

"N—No." Skuld said, slowly standing up, shaking from weakness.

She threw an open hand punch towards Rind. Rind easily dodged the attack, grabbing her arm and yanking her close to her body, then twisting Skuld around and wrapping her arm around Skuld's neck tightly.

"It's futile, Skuld. You are defeated." Rind said, antagonizing her.

Skuld whispered as she gasped for air by Rind's death choke. "Spirits of the water. Make a void where I stand. Take me with my attacker into your. Allow us to drown in your fury and might. Bind us to your mercy, oh sprit of the Essence of Life. I plead that you will spare me, for I am your commander Skuld, Goddess of Destiny."

Dirk and Mist watched in horror from the observation room to see the rain melting the ground away from where Skuld and Rind where standing. Within seconds both goddesses where stuck in a rapidly filling hole of about thirty feet, their feet bound to the bottom with mud as hard as steel.

"What the hell!?!" Rind outburst with anger. Rind tried with all her might to break free of her bondage, however, she was stuck. Skuld just stood there as the water quickly overtook the top of her head. Rind finally let go of Skuld, who was now completely underwater in a mixture of red blood, black hair, and mud. Rind took her axe and began slashing at the walls of mud, only to be discouraged by her axe dulling with each blow.

Mist and Dirk ran out of the booth. "What did you do Rind?!" Mist cried out.

"I had nothing to do with this. Why would I allow myself to die…to defeat her?" Rind shot back. "Now help me out of here!"

Mist grabbed onto Rind's arm as her head was quickly submerging. She pulled with all her might. Dirk joined too, but both were unable to pull her free.

"Hey look!" Dirk announced, pointing to the floating black hair in the pond.

Dirk quickly jumped in and grabbed Skuld, who was free floating face down. He swam over to the edge and got her out of the water. Then he turned back and dove into the miniature lake, diving all the way to the bottom. He tugged and pulled with all of his might. He begged under the water to release Rind from captivity. When Dirk was out of air and began to surface, the mud broke free and Rind floated up to the top along with Dirk.

Rind got out of the water filled hole, and glanced over at Skuld, who was just lying still. Her clothes were torn to shreds thanks to her own attacks, her young blood soaked the ground where she was.

Dirk ran over to her and started performing C.P.R. on her once again. He tried for several minutes, but still nothing.

"Come on Skuld! WAKE UP!" He shouted at her with frustration.

"Are you done yet?" Rind asked dully.

"Look at what your test did to her!" Dirk screamed, standing up and getting right in Rind's face.

"Back off, mortal." Rind threatened.

"It wasn't the test…it was her….she decided how to react, and this is the path she chose." Mist calmly added.

Dirk sat Skuld's cool body on his lap and wrapped his arms around her chest. His eyes filled with tears of sorrow and sadness.

"Why? Why did you … " Dirk cried softly.

"She'll be fine." Rind grumbled.

"Huh? What do you mean… 'she'll be fine'?" Dirk barked back at Rind.

"This was only a test. The attacks were not deadly. She's just unconscious." Rind said, talking down towards Dirk.

"But…she's not breathing!" Dirk replied.

"Why don't you check again?" Mist suggested grinning slightly.

Slowly Skuld awoke and opened her eyes. She smiled at feeling Dirk's warmth behind her, despite the cold rain drops falling on her. A rumble of thunder was heard in the distance.

"Come on you two…get up, and follow me." Rind ordered.

Dirk helped Skuld up to her feet. She was very unsteady as she took a few steps. Rind was already outpacing them and quite a few feet ahead of them already. He gently scooped her up of off her feet, and cradled her in his arms. She latched her battered arms around his neck and blushed all the way to their destination.

"You are too kind to me." Skuld softly spoke.

"I would do anything….anything at all for you." He replied.

Skuld's smile turned into a look of fear.

"What's wrong?" Dirk asked.

"I failed, didn't I." She weakly responded.

"Actually, I really don't know." Mist butted in.

"I don't think there has ever been a 'draw' on the battle field." Mist added.

"So what does that mean for Skuld?" Dirk asked.

"I'm afraid that only Rind knows that answer." Mist replied.


	8. I Passed?

**Disclaimer:** Ah! My Goddess and all its associated characters are owned by their creator, Kosuki Fujishima ( © 1988 – 2007 ) Any other characters specifically created for this fictional work are fictitious. Any similarity to any persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

My personal gratitude goes to Mr. Kosuki Fujishima for creating the wonderful Manga, characters, settings, and plots that this fiction is based on.

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Rind leaned back in her high back chair, staring at the results of Skuld's First Class Licensing Exam and exhaled as she slapped the small stack of papers on her desk. There, marked at the top corner of the page was the result: 89.7. She failed by only a fraction of a percentage point.

"She failed." Rind said staring directly at Mist.

"By not even half a percentage point! Come on, Rind. You can round her grade up! You've done it before." Mist countered.

"I'm beginning to regret that decision. No. The deal was that she passes both tests with flying colors. You know that, and she didn't perform." Rind replied dryly.

"Rind. You have to allow her to pass. Her very life is at stake here, and you know it!" Mist pleaded on Skuld's behalf.

"There's nothing more I can do. The Almighty One was clear on this point. I'm sorry." Rind paused and stood up in front of her desk. "Now I'm going to have to detain her until her trial…sometime tomorrow." Rind concluded while exhaling.

"Rind….. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to tell her. She is my responsibility." Mist offered quickly.

"Very well. Report back here with Skuld in custody, immediately." Rind commanded.

"Yes ma'am." Mist answered back.

Mist quickly turned on her heels and almost raced out of Rind's office. Once she was out of site, she began a full sprint towards the boring building where she and Skuld had trained earlier.

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Back on Earth, Belldandy, Megumi, and Keiichi were up to their necks in white fluffy bunny bugs. With each kill, four more came out of nowhere.

"Oh, this is stupid." Urd chastised to nobody, and while in mid-loop of her television teleportation, she cast a powerful lightning spell, causing the television to explode. Seven bugs died as a result of the lightning bolt striking the living room. Urd didn't waste any time and begun shooting balls of lightning from her outstretched palms, taking out several bugs with each shot.

"Do you have any ideas, Bell?" Urd shouted as she continued to incinerate bug after bug.

"No, and I'm getting exhausted. I'm not sure how much longer I can stay with this." Belldandy shouted back.

"Then I suggest we evacuate to someplace a little more safe." Megumi chimed in loudly.

Just as the four bug fighters were heading towards the front door, the telephone rang.

"That could be news about Skuld!" Belldandy said with utter excitement. Dropping her guard, she picked up the phone receiver.

"Hello!?" She yelled into the earpiece, while Megumi and Keiichi covered her. Bugs squeaking and shrieking dying last breaths in the background almost overwhelmed the conversation.

"What?! … How?! Okay!" Belldandy shouted into the phone and quickly hung it up. A moment later a golden aura surrounded the two goddesses and mortal brother and sister.

"Um…what just happened?" Keiichi asked the obvious question. The three girls and single man now stood in a grassy meadow, rain was pouring down all around. Urd quickly spotted a familiar building and grabbed Belldandy, who grabbed Keiichi, who finally grabbed Megumi. The chain sprinted towards an apartment building. Urd waved her hand in front of the door, which opened, and all four of the soaking wet people crammed into a small room. Various potions and scrolls littered the walls and tabletop surfaces.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say this looks like your room, Urd." Megumi quickly pointed out.

"You're right, Megumi. Welcome to my apartment space in the Heavens." Urd shifted her gaze over to Belldandy. "Bell…. What's going on?"

"We have been recalled to heaven by the Almighty One himself." Belldandy started to explain, when she was cut off by Keiichi.

"Huh? But why are Sis and I here?"

"We are to be character witnesses to testify at Skuld's trial tomorrow morning." Belldandy reluctantly finished.

Both mortals exclaimed in unison, "What?!" While Urd just stood there quietly.

"This must be a big deal, if I'm even granted back into Heaven." Urd said.

"Perhaps. Did you notice it was raining?" Belldandy asked.

"Yes. Maybe I can fix that since Skuld obviously has her hands full." Urd answered.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, Urd!" Belldandy clapped at the idea and offered her usual gentle smile.

"Bell?" Megumi said the goddesses name with a hint of curiosity.

"Yes?" she responded.

"Do you think we could get a tour or something while we're here? I mean, since we have to wait until tomorrow to do this trail thingy…." Megumi trailed off, giving the Goddess First Class the sad puppy eye routine.

"I don't' see why not. Urd can fix the system, and I can show you my apartment. I'll make some tea too." Belldandy planned out loud.

"Okay, then let's go." Urd commanded as she opened her door to the pouring rain. The four of them made a sprint towards the Yggdrasil command building.

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Mist arrived at the training building in a record two minutes. She was soaked to the bone as she shut the door; the wind blew the pouring rain inside, getting a few of Skuld's garments wet.

"Wow, the rain is really coming down, huh?" Kevin commented as he approached the door, to help push it shut.

"Yeah. We need to get over to Yggdrasil so that Skuld can fix the system. The sooner the better." Mist said as she walked straight towards Skuld. Dirk was sitting on the bed next to her. They were in the middle of another memory sharing session when Mist came barging in.

"I passed?" Skuld asked with uncertainty.

"Yes. But first thing is first. Fix the system, and then after you're done with that, you can sign off on your license and duty upgrades – since you'll be at the master controls anyway." Mist advised.

"That's awesome!" Dirk exclaimed, giving Skuld a tight hug. "I knew you could do it." He reassured her. A simple smile formed on her face, and everybody in the room could see her relax as if a great burden was lifted off of her shoulders.

"Well? Are we ready to get wet again?" Kevin half joked.

"Yeah!" Skuld said with a renewed enthusiasm. She got up off the bed, and grabbed Dirk's wrist. "Ready?" She asked Dirk, looking straight into his blue eyes.

"Let's go!" Dirk said, as Kevin swung open the door, the wind and rain almost blew him backwards a few steps.

"I've got a better idea, Kevin. Shut that door." Mist said.

Kevin did as Mist suggested. Mist grabbed Skuld's hand and placed it in Dirk's hand, then she walked over to Kevin, and pulled him over to where Skuld and Dirk were standing. Finally joining her free hand with Dirk's free hand she whispered a chant under her breath and the four of them vanished from the Training Room. Moments later, Skuld saw the familiar administration terminal of Yggdrasil in front of her.

"Okay Skuld, do your magic." Mist winked towards the youngest goddess of the Norns.

She took a seat in front of the master terminal and logged into the system. After scanning the screen for a few moments she turned back to Mist and almost apologized.

"Mist….. I can't. It's too complicated. The system is really screwed up – it'll take a week to correct all these errors."

Mist gave a sigh of frustration. "I feared that might be the case." Mist paused and pulled a CD looking disk out of her pocket. "Here. Run the instructions on this disk and hopefully it will cut some major time off your debugging."

Skuld looked over the disk, seeing her face in a rainbowish reflection.

"It's okay, Skuld. Rind gave it to me just in case you were sent to trial immediately." Mist clarified plainly.

Skuld pushed a button on the side of the terminal, and a drawer opened up. She gently placed the disk in the drive drawer and pushed the button again. Cracking her fingers in front of her, she typed in her access code. The drive began whirling and a long series of instructions scrolled vertically off the screen.

"It's working!" Skuld cheered, throwing her arms above her head. Meanwhile, Mist took a seat next to her at the next terminal over.

"Skuld? Could you activate this terminal? It will make the process run a bit faster if two terminals are running, yes?" Mist asked.

"Oh, okay." Skuld said as she quickly opened up a new window on her terminal screen, remotely accessing the other terminal. "There." She said with a sense of accomplishment.

While Skuld was looking at the codes flowing on the screen, Mist typed in her commands to elevate Skuld's license class and duty assignment.

"Skuld, type your access code here, to acknowledge your new assignment and class." Mist said, standing up from her terminal.

Skuld changed places with Mist and typed in her personal access code into the system. A few moments later, the system accepted Skuld's new assignment.

"Okay. It's all done! Welcome aboard!" Mist cheered.

Dirk and Kevin both clapped for Skuld, and Skuld smiled.

"Isn't there some vow or oath or something I need to pledge to….and when do I get my power limiter?" the new first class goddess asked.

"There's no vow yet, you'll make that oath at the official ceremony in a couple of days in front of your peers and family. You'll also get your limiter at that time as well. Don't sweat it." Mist said calmly.

"Now, these instructions will probably be running for a while, why don't you say we go for some lunch?" Mist advised.

Skuld happily agreed as her stomach gave a rumble. She had nearly exhausted herself earlier on the testing field with Rind. "Yeah, that sounds like a great idea!"

"Skuld…. Do you think you can do the honors?" Mist pointed over to an ornate fountain bubbling nearby.

"Sure!" Skuld said with enthusiasm. She took both Dirk and Mist's hand, as Kevin took Mist's other hand, and they all followed the young Norn into the fountain, vanishing from sight.

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"What just happened?" Megumi naively asked.

"The rain stopped." Urd answered plainly.

"I know that." Megumi snapped back angrily.

"Let's find out…" Urd replied coolly.

The two goddesses and mortals reached the Yggdrasil Command building. Urd took the lead, and was somewhat surprised when she wasn't questioned or stopped. When she reached the master terminal another set of questions popped into her ancient mind.

"What the hell?" She blurted out, seeing that Skuld was currently logged into the system, her last action not more than a minute ago. Then she noted her new ranking: Goddess First Class, Special Combat Division, Unlimited License.

"What's wrong, Urd?" Belldandy asked her elder sister.

"Check this out." Urd said as she stepped away from the terminal, careful not to touch anything. Belldandy took the seat and reviewed the screen seeing the codes executing. She also took notice of the CD-ROM diskette still inside a data drive.

"I feel something isn't right." Belldandy finally said.

Moments later, Rind came running into the Control Room.

"Where is she!?" Rind asked in a tone of authority.

"Where's who?" Urd asked, drowning in sarcasm.

"Your little sister, Urd. Where is she?!" Rind demanded.

"She's not here." Megumi chimed in joining in Urd's sarcasm.

Angered, Rind reached over and punched a button, sounding an alarm.

"Come on. Let's go find Skuld." Urd suggested.

Belldandy reached out and touched the screen, it replayed the last few seconds before Skuld and Mist left. Quickly Urd grabbed her sister and the two mortals and threw them in the fountain where Skuld had just moments ago gone through. The four of them quickly vanished from the control room.

"What the hell is going on!?" Rind demanded over the blaring alarm to the empty room.

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Skuld appeared first, quickly followed by Mist and then Dirk and Kevin.

"Where are we?" Dirk boldly asked as a door squeaked open. Skuld quickly shoved her boyfriend and his comrade into a stall as a middle-aged woman entered the restroom. Quickly she entered the next stall over. Mist played it cool and walked up to the sink, beginning to wash her hands. After the woman left Mist peered out the door, making sure the coast was clear.

"Skuld…." Mist started and then Skuld pushed past, Dirk in hand. Kevin quickly followed, leaving Mist to take the rear.

"Skuld…." Mist tried again. Skuld stopped and turned her head to glance at her. "You really should be more careful about your entry points." Mist reminded her.

"Oh wow." Kevin exclaimed in disappointment. "Look at that line."

They all looked over to the ordering line and Skuld let a depressing sigh out. "Well that sucks."

"Hey, I've got an idea. Follow me." Mist suggested. She turned, grabbing a hand, and the four of them vanished out of sight.

It was just then than Urd had materialized through the same sink that Skuld was just in, scaring some poor old lady out of her mind.

"Excuse me!" Belldandy hollered back as she followed her older sister, who just about broke down the door to the ladies room.

"Where is she?" Keiichi asked, looking around.

"She's not here…..anymore." Urd said annoyed.

"Well, she couldn't have gone too far. Seeing that line, she probably decided to try another less busy restaurant." Megumi pointed out.

"Yeah, she's probably right, Urd. Let's check out the neighbors." Keiichi said optimistically.

"Right." Urd said, determined to find her sister. She wouldn't admit it, but she too, felt something was very wrong.

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Mist, Dirk, Skuld, and Kevin appeared in the middle of a small apartment. There were two bedrooms off to one side, a television, a small kitchen, and a wall full of books. The place was immaculately clean.

"Wow. I'm assuming this is your … pad?" Kevin said, tying to use gangster-speak, badly at that.

"Yes, it's one of my homes away from home." Mist commented. "Skuld, if you'd like to clean up before we eat, there's a bedroom over there you can use. Everything should be ready by the time you come out." She paused and turned to the two men in the room. "I could really use your help in the kitchen."

"No problem." Dirk said, Kevin just smiled and followed.

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"Commander?" A black haired goddess addressed Rind, who was anxiously pacing back and forth in the Yggdrasil Command chamber.

"Yes?" She quickly answered, eagerly awaiting some good news. "Peorth?"

"This is bad. The entire system is locked out." Peorth commented.

"What about the backup systems?" Rind's expression of worry intensified.

"No good. We're completely locked out of the system. Skuld crafted these commands so …. Cleverly that Yggdrasil didn't detect the 'hacking attempt'." Peorth said.

"That little bitch." Rind hissed.

"It gets worse. According to the command protocol logs, Urd gave Skuld pretty much free reign over the commands she could execute."

"URD!!" Rind shouted angrily at the top of her lungs. Just then a quiet beep was prompted from the master terminal. The system logged Skuld out and the cursor sat there waiting for another instruction.

"Huh?" Peorth questioned, quickly, she began typing, attempting to log in and regain access.

"Well?" Rind asked impatiently.

"It's not working." Peorth said. She stood there for a moment and then declared, "I'm going after her."

"No you're not! You have a job to do here!" Rind chastised Peorth.

"What good can I do here? I need Skuld to get access back."

"Very well, I'm going too then." Rind also determined. Her battle axe materialized in her hands and then she tapped a back of her neck. "Captain. Set priority Alpha-One. Capture Skuld using whatever resources you need. Out."

Rind turned towards Peorth and said sternly "Let's go."

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Kevin was busy chopping some onion while Dirk was busy melting some butter in a frying pan. From Mist's pocket came a silent beep. A sly smile crept on her face. "It's time." She whispered.

"Huh?" Kevin asked.

Without a warning, Mist slyly walked between Kevin and Dirk, outstretching her arms, she said something ancient under her breath, causing both men to freeze solid. Without a moment to lose, she walked over to the bedroom where Skuld was and opened the door wide.

"EEEEKKKKK!" Skuld shrieked with a girlish surprised scream. She stood there half dressed, standing only in her undergarments and a black skirt, holding a red shirt in her hands.

"What's wrong? It's only me, Skuld." Mist said plainly, walking beside a dresser, she whisked up a perfume bottle without Skuld noticing.

"Oh, I don't know. I guess I'm just a bit nervous. I didn't really expect to pass this morning. Everything has been moving so fast." Skuld confessed.

"You have no idea." Mist said plainly as she now stood right in front of the Norn. Taking the bottle from her side she depressed the top, spraying a fine, sweet mist right into Skuld's face. A moment later, the goddess passed out on to the floor.

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"Oh this is so useless!" Urd spat out. "She's not here!"

"We'll find her." Keiichi reassured Urd, placing his hand on her tense shoulder.

"Bell?" Urd gave a worried look to her younger sister.

Just then Peorth and Rind materialized not far away. A young girl screamed at the sight of the battle axe Rind wielded, who in return gave small growl. A moment later, both goddesses split up, Rind took off towards the left, while Peorth went right.

"Let's follow them. Megumi, you're with me." Urd said, grabbing the Morrisato sister by her arm and quickly began in hot pursuit of Rind. Belldandy likewise took a hold of Keiichi's arm and followed Peorth.

"What are they doing here?" Keiichi asked.

"I really not sure…. But whatever the reason is, I'm sure it's a good one." Belldandy reasoned.

Rind went into each building one by one, giving the lobby of each a quick look over, obviously not finding the one goddess she wanted. Urd quickly caught up with the Valkyrie commander.

"Rind!" Urd called. Rind glanced in back of her to see the silver haired goddess of Love alongside Keiichi's sister.

"What do you want?!" Rind snapped at Urd.

"I want to... talk." Urd said simply.

Rind turned quickly and stared Urd right in her eyes, quietly she sneered. "I know you have something to do with this."

"I really have no idea what you're talking about." Urd dismissed.

"Where is Skuld!" Rind demanded.

"I don't know. I followed her here, but she seems to have given me the slip." Urd said with just a hint of sarcasm.

"Drop the act." Rind threatened. "Your little sister just kidnapped one of my finest instructors. I want her back, and I want Skuld to pay the price for her transgressions."

Urd looked over Rind for a few moments while considering what she just heard.

"That's silly. How could a student kidnap a teacher? Skuld's not _that_ powerful." Urd replied while giving a light laugh.

"Oh?" Rind said, taking a step closer to Urd, now standing chest to chest. "Your little brat has locked up Yggdrasil, and based on what I'm told, _you_ gave her the access to do it, _Miss Administrator_. When I get through with your kid sister, I'm going to have you tried for conspiracy!"

"I don't think so." Urd said, raising her arms up, she shoved Rind back, causing the Valkyrie commander to crash through a large glass window. She jumped out and flew at full force towards Urd, the two goddesses grappled in the street, before Rind tossed the Goddess of the Past up into the air. Rind pursued. Urd slowed her gain in altitude and met Rind head on, a thunder clap echoed from their impact in the sky. People down below started gathering to see the unusual spectacle, of the two flying girls bent on killing one another.

Megumi pushed through the quickly formed crowd and ran after her brother and Belldandy, calling her name as loud as she could. "Belldandy!!

Both Keiichi and Bell turned to see Megumi panting as she stopped just a few feet in back of them, her voice now horse. She didn't have to say anything. Rind was slammed into a skyscraper a couple blocks away, causing glass to rain down onto the streets below.

"Rind?" Belldandy whispered. The Valkyrie commander launched like a bullet from the hole her body formed in the brick and concrete, slamming into Urd, taking both goddesses into another building across the street.

"Urd!" She cried and flew into the air to stop the violent fight. "Would you two stop it!" she yelled, forming a protection sphere around her. Dark clouds quickly formed, blocking out the sun, a cold wind gushed from the North as Urd summoned her lightning.

"Bring it on... turd!" Rind yelled.

"What did you call me?!" Urd spat back as a lightning bolt erupted from her outstretched arms, whizzing just past Belldandy, and finally just past Rind as she dodged the bolt.

"You think you can do battle with me... and win?!" Rind laughed as she called her Axe and charged right for Urd.

"Belldandy... look out!!" Keiichi yelled from the ground.

"Oh spirit of the Earth I call upon thee..." Belldandy began to chant a spell both Rind and Urd charged towards one another.

The three collided and a brilliant white flash overtook the sky as if a nuclear bomb went off. Power was lost as several television screens, traffic signals blacked out and cars rolled to a stop. After the light faded, the goddesses were nowhere to be seen.

"Belldandy?!" Keiichi cried up into the sky.

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Skuld opened her eyes staring up into an incandescent light bulb hanging from the ceiling. She sat up, and looked around. She was surrounded by concrete blocks. The room was probably no bigger than a king sized bed, with a small covered drain. Nothing else was in the room. She swung her legs off the bed and touched the cold floor with her bare feet, walking up to the glass door she yelled, seeing another girl with black hair sitting at a table with her back towards Skuld.

She didn't respond. Skuld then banged on the glass, obviously it was some kind of bullet proof glass, it didn't budge and sounded like a bass drum. The girl heard the banging and stood up, when she turned, Skuld nearly fainted.

The girl wore a simple red dress with short sleeves and a pleated red skirt, hanging just above her knees. Her silky, straight, black hair just reached the bottom of her skirt as well. She had brown eyes and three blue inverted teardrops on her face. -- Identical to Skuld.

A tall man turned the corner and came into view of Skuld now. He had long reddish-brown hair, almost neon green eyes. He sported a black suit and tie, and had a sturdy build.

"Loki." Skuld said.

"Howya doin' kiddo!" Loki said clearly confident as he strolled up next to the Skuld look alike. I see you've already met your twin sister. Nice, isn't she. He grabbed her left butt cheek. To which Skuldako punched him in the face.

"I guess I deserved that." Loki said chuckling and then walked up in front of Skuld's glass doorway.

"Let me out of here!" Skuld commanded.

"Um. No." Loki answered plainly. "Not unless..." he trailed off. Skuld had a light of optimism shine in her eyes. "You mother my children!" Loki burst out into a full fit of laughter.

Skuld stared at him while flipping him off with her middle finger. "You're sick."

"I am not. Have you taken a good look at yourself in a mirror... oh wait! Of course not!" Loki fell into another fit of laughter. "Here, feast your eyes upon..." he trailed off and with the snap of a finger; a full body mirror appeared before her.

Reflecting back at her was not the Skuld of 14, but instead, a grown woman of about 20. She smiled with satisfaction as she reviewed her new adult body, complete with a nice sized C cup.

"I'm not all sure what Mist has done to you, but you're lookin hot, hot." Loki said gleaming a perverted smile.

"What I've done is very simple." Mist turned the corner and stood next to Loki. Skuld's smile turned quickly into a frown, her face expressed pure rage at her once before teacher.

"What did -- why -- " Caught up with so much rage, she couldn't articulate the many questions she had.

"Simple, child." Mist smiled. "I greatly reduced your link to Yggdrasil, giving you just enough to stay... attractive." Mist glanced over at Loki and back to Skuld. "I want your access codes to Yggdrasil, and I'm sure with a little motivation, you'll gladly give them to me." Mist smiled.

"Whatever... you bitch." Skuld gritted her teeth and tried to bombard the glass wall with water ball after water ball.

"It's useless, you're only draining yourself further Skuld." Mist spoke loudly against the water splashing against the window. She looked at Skuldako and motioned for her to come.

Skuld stopped her attack, panting from near exhaustion. She glared at the younger twin version of herself.

"You should feel grateful, Skuld. In exchange for your codes, Skuldako will stand your trial and get whatever punishment you'll end up getting too." Mist said coolly.

"What!?" Skuld yelled in pure anger. "I -- I thought..."

"Oh, yeah, I didn't tell you that did I? You failed. But you were sooooo close to passing. Oh well, better luck next time. We've gotta go now and meet up with your sisters. Bye now." She waved her fingers in front of the glass as she left from view. Skuldako followed closely, meanwhile, Loki remained.

"So, how about a kiss?" He said smiling.

"Go to hell." Skuld fumed.


End file.
